Roy Peters
by septasonicxx
Summary: Making it as a ShinRa Infantryman is hard... especially when you're a girl pretending to be a guy! Epilogue: A brother's dream. ps.This has become slightly AU. Ish.
1. Chapter 1

"Roy Peters." came the hesitant answer to the question asked.

"Okay Roy, if you could just fill this out, then we'll be able to get under way." The man talking handed a piece of paper over and then folded his arms, looking very bored. Roy grabbed a pen and began filling it out quickly.

Name: Roy Peters

Age: 15

Gender: Male

Hair: Black

Eyes: Green

Height: 5'5"

Handing the paper back, Roy waited nervously for the man to say something else. Applying to join ShinRa was not a matter taken lightly, and each one trying had to fill out lots of forms before being considered. This was only the first form of many.

Nerves having kicked in a while ago, Roy shifted from foot to foot, wondering what to do. Joining ShinRa had always been his goal and he hoped desperately that he'd make it. He glanced at the older man's face, wondering if he already knew his secret. Was it obvious?

Where was a mirror when you needed one...

"Alright, you can go through. They'll give you everything else you need to fill out and assign you to a small group of others just like you who you'll be working with today." The man handed his form back and jabbed his thumb in the direction Roy was to take.

Roy left the line of other young boys all wanting to join ShinRa and headed over to the door where all the others before him had gone. He put a hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it, walking in cautiously.

"Ah, here's another one!" The man who was in authority in this room walked right over to him and handed him a lot of sheets, explaining quickly that he was to fill them out and then hand them back. Roy nodded and took the pen offered to him, beginning to fill out the first questions he was presented with.

Everyone else in the room was still working through their own forms, and Roy wondered just how long he'd be going through them. At least he hadn't been last in line.

The first questions were basically the same as what he'd already answered, so he filled them out fast and was soon on to new ones.

Wiping a nervous hand across his forehead, Roy tried to calm his breathing. He was so nervous! He was probably more nervous than all the others combined! And all because he had a secret which would prevent him from joining ShinRa. He glanced around and then turned back to filling out the forms, hoping no one suspected anything yet.

"Hey, you look like a chocobo!" Roy looked over to see two of the boys in the room staring at another, a blonde. The blonde shifted and tried to ignore them, continuing to fill out his forms.

"We're talking to you!" One of the boys snatched his forms away and began looking over them, snickering. "You're from Nibelheim? Where's that?"

"Please give them back." the blonde said softly.

"Let's see... oh how cute! Your name's Cloud!" the other boy laughed.

Roy didn't quite know what he was going to do, but he knew he wasn't just going to stand there watching this happen without doing anything. So he walked over towards the blonde, Cloud, and sat next to him, snatching the forms back off the other boys while they were pausing in confusion and handing them to Cloud, silently turning back to his own papers after all this was done.

"Who're you?" one of the boys asked, folding his arms.

"Roy." Roy muttered in response.

"Well, I'm Davis. This is Rex." Roy glanced up and raised an eyebrow. Davis smirked and nodded as if answering a silent question.

"He doesn't look like a dog." Roy said before realising what the words actually meant. He winced, expecting to be bashed up beyond recognition.

Instead, Davis and Rex both laughed. Cloud sniggered.

"You're cool!" Rex said, grinning.

"Thanks." Roy muttered, his face flushing bright red in embarrassment.

"Hopefully we'll be in the same group." Davis said thoughtfully. "I don't want to work with any of them, they're so stupid." He gestured to everyone else in the room and then sighed, sitting on the other side of Roy.

"I reckon." Rex agreed, remaining standing. He turned to Cloud. "Hey, sorry 'bout before Spike. It was just a joke."

"Hey, that's great! Spike! Can we call you Spike?" Davis asked, leaning forward to look past Roy at Cloud.

"Uh, I guess." Cloud shrugged, staring down in an obvious shy manner. Roy was glad he'd come over to help, seeing as Cloud was as shy or possibly even _more_ shy than himself.

Some more people had slowly been entering the room while this conversation was going on and now the man in charge grabbed a chair and stood on it, whistling to get everyone's attention.

"Okay! Time to hear which groups you're in." he said. He began rattling off the lists and, to the pleased surprise of Davis, Rex, Roy and Cloud, they had been put together.

"Yes!" Davis hissed under his breath. Roy smiled slightly, pleased to know that someone was glad to have him in their group.

"Now that you know your groups and you've filled out all your forms," the man glared at each boy individually, knowing fully well that none of them had finished. "You'll be started on your tasks for the day."

A door to the side opposite where everyone had entered opened up and someone else walked in. Someone who caused all the boys in the room to gasp in shock and snap to attention in an instant.

"Uh, General?" the man standing on the chair hesitantly got off, facing Sephiroth and saluting.

_They've found me out. They're gonna send me home right now. _Roy turned his head to the ground, hoping that maybe if he didn't look at them they wouldn't notice him and they'd forget all about what his mind told him they already knew.

"I told Fair I wanted him looking after the newbies as practice. Where is he?" Roy looked up, hopeful. They didn't know?

"Oh, sir, he asked if I could do it for him because he was really busy." The man shifted, glancing at all the boys who were listening intently and then focusing his attention back on the General.

"Then what is he doing chasing chocobo's out in the field?" Sephiroth asked. All the boys snickered. "Get him here in less than five minutes."

Sephiroth spun on his heel and was about to leave when he turned to look at all the boys. His piercing glare seemed to be directed at each one individually and they all felt singled out. Then he walked out quickly and the boys blinked rapidly, as if they had just come out of a trance.

"Looks like you have extra time to fill out your forms. If anyone moves from this room they will be disqualified from this years batch of new ShinRa employees." The man headed out the door they'd come from and the boys were left alone. Many of them took the man's advice and picked up their forms to continue filling them out.

_I'm alive. They don't know. _Roy breathed out in relief, not believing his luck.

"Woah, we saw Sephiroth!" Davis exclaimed, eyes wide in astonishment. "He looked at me! D'ya reckon he saw some awesome talent in me that will make me a great SOLDIER?"

"Only as much talent as it takes to fall over while standing still and holding onto something." Rex said, grinning. He was referring to something which had happened earlier, and Davis glared at him for bringing it up again. "Hey, do you guys ever talk, or what?" Rex had turned his attention to Roy and Cloud again. Cloud was hurriedly filling out his forms and Roy was staring in a bit of a daze.

"Hey, Roy," Davis smirked, nudging him. "Want me to get a mop for all your drool?" Roy looked over at him and his expression changed to one of confusion before he rolled his eyes.

"Ha ha." he said.

"Okay! I was always here! So, I'm Zack Fair and I'm gonna be leading you through all your like, test things." A man with dark hair stood at the front of the room now, with a bit of a crazy look in his eyes. "Have you guys finished your forms?" There were shakes of heads and Zack slowly nodded, sitting down on a chair and waiting.

Everyone hurried through, and in about ten minutes they were all done and the forms were piled up at the front of the room.

"Great!" Zack stood up again and clapped his hands together. "You've gotten your groups? So let's go set to work and find out which of you are staying with us!"

They all began filing out the door after Zack, moving slowly due to nerves and hoping desperately that they would make it. Roy followed after his new friends, glancing behind to see Cloud following him, and crossed his fingers.

_Please... please don't find out. I have to get into ShinRa. I _have_ to!

* * *

_

[2 months before]

"I'm not joking!" Kayli Peters could not make her best friend believe her. With a sigh, she decided to attempt approaching the subject from a different direction. "How about you just help me for fun then? I mean it's not like I'm going to get in..."

"For fun? Sure!" Gemma Freshstone nodded her head vigorously. "Although I can't really understand why on earth you want to do this, it'd be a challenge for me!" She was now bouncing with excitement and thinking about how much experience this would give her for her future career in hair and make-up.

"Great!" Kayli said, her eyes lighting up. Gemma had agreed!

"...Um, do you honestly want to learn how to walk and talk like a guy as well?" Gemma stopped bouncing and bit her bottom lip in thought, raising one eyebrow.

"Yes." Kayli said without hesitating. Gemma sighed but nodded, signalling that she would help even though she couldn't understand why.

"Can we work on the look first though?" she burst out, the excitement and hope obvious in her eyes. She _loved_ doing people's hair and make-up.

"Of course!" Kayli said.

"What about your parents? Ha, what will they think when they see you like that?" Gemma giggled. Kayli smiled sadly and shook her head, a tiny signal for Gemma to drop the subject. Gemma nodded and grabbed Kayli's wrist, dragging her inside the house.

"Woah, slow down!" Kayli was laughing now too.

"Do you want me to cut your hair or do you want a wig?" Gemma asked, her mind already whirring with thoughts of how she would do this so it would be _perfect_.

"Uh, cut it?" Kaylia suggested.

"Sure?" Gemma asked, shoving Kayli to sit down on the chair in her room and reaching for the hair scissors which she'd used to trim her own hair just that morning. Gemma paused and waited for an answer, watching Kayli's face carefully.

"Yes." Kayli said after only a moment longer of rethinking it. "Can you thin it too, to make it look less like an untameable mop?"

"Definitely." Gemma confirmed, beginning to take Kayli's long black strands of hair and cut them to her shoulders. "I'll just cut it to here first and then figure out where to cut it to afterwards."

Kayli stared across the room at the mirror on the wall and watched as thin black objects seemed to float to the ground from her head. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see it happen any more, and contented herself to imagining what life would be like if she actually made it in and managed to convince people that she was male.

"Okay, do you want me to see what I can do to your face?" Gemma asked, backing away and grinning as she ran her eyes over Kayli's temporary new haircut.

"Yeah." Kayli nodded, still not opening her eyes.

"Let's see..." Gemma started sifting through her make-up drawer, looking for something which she could use to make Kayli's face look more masculine. She grabbed something and walked back over, wiping it over Kayli's face. Then she took hold of something else and dabbed it around Kayli's chin, giggling madly once she was done.

"What did you do?" Kayli asked, panicking for a moment.

"Look for yourself!" Gemma giggled. Kayli took a deep breath and opened her eyes, having them widen as soon as she saw what Gemma was talking about. Her lovely friend had made it look like she had stubble.

"Gem_ma_!" Kayli whined, her horrified eyes flickering over to see her friend smothering a laugh.

"Okay, okay! I'll get rid of it." Gemma shook her head in amusement and left to get something which she could use to remove what she'd done. Once that was over with, she experimented with other things and was finally satisfied with something she tried.

"If I'm going to be a guy for a while, I'll need to know how to do this myself." Kayli said, leaning closer to the mirror to study her new look. Gemma had used different skin-toned foundation to make it look like her jaw was more square than it actually was, creating the look of a male shaped face.

"I'll do it again. This time I'll explain everything I'm doing so you can remember." Gemma said, beginning to wipe all the make-up off with a wet cloth. Kayli nodded in agreement and settled back in the chair.

It was a while later when the two finally finished with the make-up. Kayli had applied it herself and was now leaving it and instructing Gemma to cut her hair into a boys haircut.

"Do you want it all scraggy?" Gemma asked, lifting different bits of her friends hair to see just where she should start.

"Yeah." Kayli replied.

"Hmm, okay." Gemma brought the scissors up and carefully made one snip. Some hair fell to the floor. She grinned then and continued snipping bits of the black hair. "Your parents are going to kill me."

"No they won't. They'll kill _me_, and _I_ don't care." Kayli corrected. Gemma rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. They won't like it all the same."

"Too right."

There was a moment of silence as Gemma concentrated on cutting to the right length.

"Hey, were you serious about trying to join ShinRa?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, I was." Kayli said, also in a quiet voice.

"I'll miss you." Gemma said.

"Oh come on, I probably won't even get in."

"Once I'm done with you, you will!" Gemma laughed. Kayli grinned and risked a glance at the mirror, shocked to see a rather male looking face staring back at her. The hair was making a big difference.

"You almost done?"

"Yep. One more... here we go!" Gemma stood back and surveyed her work, her mouth falling open. "You look like a guy!" Kayli giggled, standing up to get a lot closer to the mirror.

"I do, don't I?" she said, tilting her head and running a hand through her short hair. "Wow, this is great. If you don't get a job as a hair and make-up artist then you should definitely file a complaint."

"Ha, thanks." Gemma laughed. "But come on, now that you're serious about this you've gotta start walking and talking like a guy too. Convince me you're male!"

"How's this?" Kayli turned to look at Gemma and raised an eyebrow, having spoken in an unnaturally low voice. Gemma burst out laughing and shook her head quickly.

"Maybe we should start with the walk first." Gemma suggested, trying to calm herself down. Kayli nodded, agreeing. "And we need to get you new clothes."

"What's wrong with my clothes?" Kayli snapped, feigning being insulted. The two laughed again and began trying to figure out how a guy would walk.

In another two hours, Kayli was walking like a guy _and_ talking like a guy. As she tried to walk like one she had tried speaking like a male as well and had finally settled on something that Gemma said was very convincing.

"You're amazing!" Gemma laughed. "If I saw you on the street I'd definitely think you were a guy."

"Awesome! Do you think I'll have a chance at ShinRa?" Kayli asked, a wistful look coming onto her face. Gemma nodded hurriedly.

"Duh!" she said.

"Cool." Kayli giggled. "Hey, do you think your brother would let me borrow some of his clothes for today?" Gemma's eyes widened in excitement.

"Oh my gosh, he'd better! That would be so awesome!" Gemma hurried out of her room to find her brother and Kayli could hear the rushed begging and pleading. Pretty soon, Gemma came back with a pair of baggy jeans and an over-sized shirt.

"They look great!" Kayli said, taking the clothes and grinning, disappearing into the bathroom quickly to change into them. When she came back out, Gemma could hardly even squeak in response. The overall effect was amazing.

"Are you sure you're not really a guy?" Gemma managed to say finally. Kayli laughed. "Uh, you gotta fix that." At Kayli's confused expression, Gemma figured she should explain. "Your laugh. It's too girly."

"Oh." Kayli said. "Well, we'll work on it." She walked over to the mirror and looked in, taking in her face, hair and clothes. She too was really shocked at what she saw.

"You're not going to keep your name as Kayli, are you?" Gemma asked suddenly. Kayli frowned and looked over her shoulder, shaking her head.

"Of course not."

"Have you thought of a name, then?" Gemma probed. Kayli turned back to the mirror, staring in and trying to think of a name that matched her new appearance.

"Roy?" she asked, turning to face Gemma again. Gemma considered it for a moment and then grinned, nodding.

"Roy it is." she said.

"Roy." Kayli repeated. "My name is Roy Peters."


	2. Chapter 2

Roy walked next to Davis, the two of them talking excitedly about what they had been given to do as jobs for the first week of being at ShinRa. They and their other two friends, Cloud and Rex, had all gotten in due to the fact that they worked so well as a team while the other groups spent most of their time trying to get to know each other at the same time as do their given tests.

Although some others had gotten in, there weren't many. Roy glanced over his shoulder to see Rex talking at a million miles per hour to Cloud, who like usual just stood there nodding and not saying anything. Cute kid.

"I still can't believe I got in." Roy said.

"Good thing Rex and I decided to talk to Spike before the tests started. If we hadn't I don't think we would've worked together so well." Davis explained. Roy nodded, agreeing.

"I'm so excited for our first class tonight." Roy said.

"I know! I've always wanted to learn how to use one of those special ShinRa guns." Davis replied, his eyes lighting up even more than before.

"Imagine if we make it into SOLDIER and get to use those big swords!" Roy exclaimed. He was barely stopping himself from jumping up and down.

"Yeah! I'm definitely gonna try for SOLDIER." Davis said.

"Hey, dudes you're walking right past it."

Davis and Roy turned to where Rex had paused in the doorway to their shared room, raising an eyebrow at them. Cloud had already gone inside.

"Whew, good thing we've got you around," Davis chuckled, locking an arm around Roy's shoulders to steer him back to their room while speaking to Rex. "Otherwise Roy and I probably would've walked to Gongaga and back before noticing anything."

Roy reached the door and ducked out from Davis' grip, hurrying over to his bed to busy himself with something to do. Why, why did he have to have pale skin which showed his red face like a neon sign?

"You're a weird one, Roy." Davis chuckled again, heading over to his own bed. Rex shut the door behind them and started fiddling with the door handle, trying to invent a lock as the people at ShinRa hadn't installed their own.

"Hey, Cloud, want to go check out the cafeteria?" Roy asked, ignoring Davis' comment. Cloud looked up and met Roy's gaze, giving a small nod. "Cool, see you guys later." Roy walked to the door and shoved Rex out of the way mercilessly, opening the door and letting Cloud out before poking his tongue out at Rex and running after the blonde.

"Sorry I don't talk very much." Cloud muttered.

"No worries, I don't mind." Roy grinned. "It means I don't have to talk much either when I'm around you."

"You don't like talking?" Cloud frowned, obviously not thinking Roy to be that kind of guy.

"Not really, I guess. But I feel more comfortable talking to you." Roy admitted. He looked away, feeling the familiar sensation of a red face again.

"Same." Cloud mumbled, going back to staring at the floor while they walked.

They stayed silent until they reached the cafeteria, where the only things said were 'gross looking food' and 'I don't want to eat that'. The two were about to leave again when Zack Fair appeared in front of them, almost bouncing on the spot.

"Hey! How are you guys going?" he asked excitedly.

"Fine, sir." Roy said for the both of them, knowing that Cloud would not like talking to a superior any more than he liked talking to his peers.

"Great! You know, your group showed the most promise out of all of them. Did you see them? Fussing over things like who was going to do what just because they didn't know each other well. But you guys! It was like you clicked with each other! You just went straight to work and didn't even hesitate when allocating specific jobs. It was amazing to watch, really." Zack beamed, folding his arms proudly.

"Thank you, sir." Roy said, now joining Cloud in staring at the floor.

"So, you guys gonna try out for SOLDIER?" Zack asked. Roy looked up again and nodded, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Yes, sir." he said confidently.

"And hopefully you'll get in." Zack ruffled Roy's short black hair, then turned to Cloud and ruffled his blonde hair. "You too, kay Spike? Try out."

"Yes, sir." Cloud said quietly.

"Ha, you act like I'm gonna eat you or something. Don't worry! I already ate! Although, the food here _is_ pretty gross... so occasionally I might be tempted..." Zack laughed and patted Cloud on the head. "Fooled ya!"

Roy glanced at Cloud just in time to see him also looking and the two shared a momentary glance of what-the-heck-is-wrong-with-this-guy?

"We should get going, sir." Roy said.

"Ah, yeah, you should. See you guys 'round!" Zack spun around and took off, the word 'Angeal' reaching Roy and Cloud's ears.

"Quick, before he changes his mind and comes back." Roy whispered, darting out of the cafeteria. Cloud followed quickly, determined not to get left behind.

"He seemed nice, but he just never stopped talking!" Cloud said, exasperated.

"I reckon!" Roy replied, chuckling. "C'mon, let's go see whether Rex and Davis have burnt down our room yet."

Cloud paused before responding quietly, "Are you being serious?"

Roy shoved him and burst out laughing, deciding to race him back to their room. A grin broke out on Cloud's face as he ran after his friend, feeling happier than he had in a while.

* * *

"No, I do _not_ want to apply to be a secretary at ShinRa. Please listen carefully to what I'm saying this time!" Gemma clutched the phone in a vice-like grip, getting more agitated each moment. "I said I _didn't_ want to be a secretary! Get it through your _thick heads_ that I _do not_ want to be a _secretary_!"

Tapping her foot, she waited for the person on the phone to finish stuttering. For the fourth time, she heard the click that signalled she'd been passed through to someone else. The first time she had heard it she'd thought they'd hung up on her. Now she knew better.

"Hello, my name is Gemma Freshstone and I'd like to inquire about-" Gemma's mouth fell open in disgust as the person interrupted her and began babbling about something else. "You're so _rude_!" she snapped, and was thoroughly pleased to hear the person stop talking. "I was in the middle of my sentence and you interrupted me! Now listen, I'd like to inquire about making a visit to ShinRa so that I can see someone that I know there.

"No, they're not in SOLDIER. No, I've never been to ShinRa before. Yes, I am a female. No, I would not like to buy a... why are you asking me if I want to buy a doughnut!?" Gemma was about to slam the phone down in absolute anger when another voice broke in.

"You'd like to visit someone in ShinRa?"

"Yes! Yes I would!" Gemma said, exasperated.

"A day trip or an overnight stay?"

_Finally! Someone who is talking sense!_ "Just a day trip, please."

"Name?"

"Gemma Freshstone."

"And the person you wish to visit is...?"

"Roy Peters. He's an Infantryman." Gemma smirked triumphantly, glad that she had finally gotten through to the people at ShinRa. Perhaps all those other people she had been talking to were secretaries trying to give their jobs away because they hated it. Oh well.

"One moment please."

Gemma waited patiently, her anger fizzing away as she imagined going to see her best friend at ShinRa. Of course, she'd feel as if she were talking to a guy, but she'd know she wasn't.

"Which day?"

"Tomorrow, please."

"The people at the front desk will give you directions once you arrive. You will be allowed one day only as Roy Peters' work has been cleared only for that specified amount of time. Thank you for calling."

"Thanks! Bye!" Gemma hung up and punched the air with her fist, hissing 'yes' enthusiastically. Her brother walked in and raised an eyebrow, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl.

"I didn't know Kayli had a brother." he said.

"Huh?" Gemma asked, freezing as she stared at him and tried to make her brain catch up to what he was saying.

"You said Roy Peters."

"Oh! No that's her cousin." Gemma nodded as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. "Kayli went to visit him at ShinRa and tomorrow I get to see them both too!"

"Hmm. Great." Her brother walked out looking uninterested and Gemma sighed in relief. Hurrying back to her room, she silently hoped that Kayli wasn't making a fool of herself and had made some friends. Then she burst out laughing when she remembered Kayli's trade mark red face for when she was nervous.

The two friends had spent two months working on creating 'Roy' to be as believable as possible. About four weeks ago they had taken Roy out in public to see what kind of response he got, and the results were good. Many people believed Kayli was male.

Gemma grabbed her straightening iron and began doing her own hair, wondering how Kayli was going. At least she knew she'd made it to being an Infantryman, otherwise the person talking to her would have said there was no one by that name.

* * *

"You what?" Davis asked, staring at Roy in shock and disbelief. He could not possibly have just said what he thought he had said.

"Don't make me say it again!" Roy whined.

"How can you not have anything on tomorrow?" Davis grabbed Roy's schedule and read it over, eyes widening as he saw that Roy did, indeed, have tomorrow off. "That's not fair! My tomorrow is packed full of stuff!"

"Don't blame me, I didn't do anything except collect my schedule." Roy shrugged, taking his paper back and going over to his bed. Davis stormed over to Rex and looked over his shoulder, making sure he wasn't the only one to have a busy day tomorrow.

"What's wrong with you Roy? Rex's is stuffed full too!" Davis exclaimed, rolling his eyes and storming over to Cloud. "Your day is full, right? Tomorrow?" he snapped angrily. Cloud looked up, startled, and nodded.

"Maybe you'll get a day off later!" Roy said, beginning to get nervous. What if his day had been cleared because they'd found out and were going to send him home?

"Whatever," Davis said, sitting on his bed and putting his head in his hands. "Don't care."

"I'm sorry." Roy said.

"Doesn't matter. Maybe you're not as good so they don't trust you with as much stuff as they trust us with." Davis suggested, bringing his head up again and smirking. Roy grinned back and rolled his eyes, shaking his head lightly in amusement.

"Guys, class starts in ten minutes." Rex said, grabbing some things from his bag and putting his schedule away. "Or don't you want to learn how to use the guns any more?"

"Yeah, yeah. Shut up." Davis said, moving to grab stuff from his bag also.

Once all four of them had their stuff, they walked to their class together and were excited to see that there were already racks of guns in the room.

"This is great!" Davis said, going straight over to a gun and picking it up. He started rattling off information about it that sounded impressive but made no sense to Rex, Cloud and Roy.

"Uh, okay?" Rex said, a look that plainly said that-went-over-my-head on his face.

"Forget it. It's just a really good gun." Davis said.

"Why didn't you say that first?" Roy teased, shoving him slightly. Davis rolled his eyes and put the gun back, folding his arms.

"It's not my fault you guys are so uneducated." he retorted.

"See this face?" Roy asked, pointing at his own face. Davis raised an eyebrow and nodded. "This is a not caring face." Roy finished.

Davis exchanged a glance with Rex and the two of them cracked up laughing.

"What?" Roy asked, his face going red again.

"You sounded like a girl!" Davis laughed.

"Yeah, you did," Rex agreed. "It was hilarious!"

Roy turned away from them, ducking his head to try and hide the fact that he was incredibly embarrassed. _This will never work... they'll find out!_

Thankfully their conversation was interrupted as their instructor entered the room. He walked over and gave stern looks at whoever was touching the guns so that quickly everyone stepped away from the racks with the guns.

"Before I start this lesson, I would just like to tell you all that I will not tolerate bad behaviour. While I am speaking no one else is. If I tell you to do something you will do it without asking me why or procrastinating." He picked up one of the guns and brought it to his eye level, looking at the class over the top of it. "I should also let you know that I have been given authorisation to shoot as punishment. I think that's all I wanted to say for now."

The class shifted awkwardly, glancing at each other with slightly horrified expressions as the words sunk in. Their instructor lowered his gun and put it back on the rack, smiling a small smile which seemed to terrify them even more.

"I'm gonna die."

Roy tilted his head slightly, absolutely positive that he had just heard Cloud say something, but didn't dare turn to look in case he got on the instructors bad side.

It appeared that this class would turn out to be the dreaded class. Oh, the irony.

* * *

[1 month before]

"Come on." Roy grabbed Gemma's arm to hurry her up as they crossed the road, trying to weave their way through the raindrops. They ducked under the shelter of a couple of shops once on the other side and Roy pointed out where they were heading.

"You are doing _all_ the talking." Gemma hissed. Roy grinned and nodded, walking towards the dark little shop and pushing on the door to open it up.

Once they were both inside, Roy made his way to the counter at the back of the room, glancing at the strange objects being sold. Gemma followed him closely, nervous at being here without their parents knowledge.

"Excuse me," Roy said, putting a hand on the counter and looking directly at the shop assistant.

The man was around twenty-five and had about ten piercings in his ears alone. Roy shivered slightly, but hoped it wasn't noticed.

"What?" the man asked.

"I um, heard that you do some..." Roy glanced around the shop nervously and then turned back. "...false documentations?"

The man stared at Roy, not moving for twenty seconds. Perhaps it was done as a dramatic pause, perhaps not. But then he slowly nodded and leant on the counter.

"What have you got for me?" he asked.

"I'd like you to change some information on my birth certificate..." Roy explained, fishing around in his pocket for the papers. He found them, pulled them out and handed them to the man.

"You want a different name or something?" the man asked, gently unfolding the papers to take a look at the information on it. He frowned at something he saw and looked up at Roy again, giving him a glance over.

"I'd like the name to read 'Roy Peters' and the gender to say 'male'." Roy said confidently. The man chuckled and shook his head in disbelief.

"You're actually a chick under all that?" the man smirked.

"Can you do it or not?" Roy snapped angrily, refusing to answer the question. Gemma nudged him from behind. "Oh, and I want to have been born one year earlier so I'm a year older than I really am."

The man narrowed his eyes slightly but nodded, taking a pen and beginning to jot things down on a scrap piece of paper.

"Let me get this straight. You want to be a guy called Roy Peters who is fifteen years old?" he asked.

"That's right." Roy nodded.

"Done deal." the man said. "You got cash for me?"

Roy glanced at Gemma before reaching into another pocket and pulling out a bunch of notes, putting them in the man's hand. The man counted them and then smiled, putting them somewhere out of sight under the counter and also hiding Roy's original birth certificate and the paper he'd written on.

"Come back tomorrow and you'll have your wonderful new birth certificate all ready for use." the man said.

"Thanks." Roy said.

He and Gemma made their way back out of the shop, and once outside in the wind Gemma burst out laughing.

"_You're actually a chick under all that?_ It was priceless! Oh my gosh, Ka- Roy, I love you! Even _he_ thought you were male!" she laughed, shaking her head.

"Yes, Gem. But come on! I really wanna buy those pants I saw in the shop over there." Roy said, pointing at a clothes shop. Gemma rolled her eyes.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to your new obsession with male clothing. Oh well, let's go then!"


	3. Chapter 3

Roy walked back into his room after eating breakfast. He fiddled with his uniform a bit and then reached for his suitcase, flipping it open and yanking out his toothbrush and toothpaste.

Although he had moved all his other belongings into either the closet or the cupboards, he kept his toiletries in his suitcase because the bathrooms were public and there was nowhere to keep his stuff there.

"I hate you." Davis mumbled, stumbling into the room and glaring at Roy.

"I know." Roy grinned.

Rex and Cloud walked in then, each going to their own bags to get their stuff. Davis grumbled to himself as he began getting ready for what he had to do that day, wishing he could wander around doing nothing like Roy would.

"What am I supposed to do?" Roy asked suddenly.

"Anything!" Rex suggested, grinning.

"Anything?" Roy frowned.

Rex shrugged and headed for the door, dragging Cloud with him. Davis glanced at them before hurriedly grabbing his toothbrush and following. With a sigh, Roy kicked his suitcase shut and walked out after them.

The infantrymen from this year and the ones from previous years were all making their way to the public bathrooms to do their teeth or just simply go.

Roy headed straight to a sink when he got in, quickly cleaning his teeth, rinsing, and getting out of there. He didn't even bother waiting for his friends in his rush to get back to his room.

"Roy Peters," He froze, listening intently to the voice on the intercom which had been installed throughout the building. It was useful to find someone no matter where they were. "Please report to the front desk immediately."

_This is it. Say goodbye, Roy._

Hanging his head slightly, Roy began walking where he had been told to go. Davis poked his head out of the bathrooms in time to see him walk past and hissed something like 'serves you right'. Roy couldn't help but chuckle at that.

He'd miss his friends.

Upon arriving at the front desk, Roy's jaw dropped open and he promptly forgot how to use his limbs. He stared ahead at the person looking at him, refusing to believe it could be real.

Before he lost his _entire_ mind and ended up screaming like a girl, he shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut, opening them again.

"Gemma!" he called out, grinning.

"Roy!" Gemma ran at him, flinging her arms around him in a hug. "You got in! I told you you would!"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Visiting you! And believe me, you have no idea how hard it was to organise. But I did it!" Gemma hopped up and down a bit, then stopped and giggled. "Seen any cute guys?"

"You should probably ask me later..." Roy said nervously, glancing around.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" Gemma laughed.

"Anyway, you said you organised this earlier?" Roy asked. Gemma nodded cheekily and giggled, very pleased with herself. "So _that's_ why I've got the day off!" Roy exclaimed, chuckling.

"So what do you want to do? Are you allowed to leave the building?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Roy shrugged. "But hang on, I'll just go grab some stuff." Gemma nodded and sat down on a chair to wait.

With a huge grin, Roy went back to his room to grab his stuff. It just so happened that at that moment Davis was complaining to Rex and Cloud about what he had to do that day.

"…an elevator! I mean, don't they pay people to come in and do that stuff? Roy! What did they want you for?" As soon as Davis saw him he'd changed the topic and walked over to him.

"Oh, one of my old friends came to see me." Roy shrugged, trying to brush it off. "What were you saying about an elevator?" His plan worked and Davis threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I have to fix an elevator! Have you ever done that before? _Have you_? I didn't think so!" Davis grumbled some other words under his breath and went back to getting the things he needed.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. Have fun." Roy said, having picked up what he needed and heading for the door again.

"Wait, what's your friends name?" Davis asked.

"Uh, Gemma." Roy said cautiously.

"Oh my gosh you've got a girlfriend!" Rex exclaimed. "No way! Can we meet her? I've got ten minutes before I've gotta go anywhere."

"Heck, yes! Same! I'm coming!" Davis said, his eyes lighting up for a change.

"Can I come?" Cloud asked awkwardly.

"Dude, we wouldn't let you _not_!" Rex laughed, dragging him over to the door. Roy sighed but grinned, shaking his head at his friends antics.

"Just so you know, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a close friend." Roy said.

"So she's _single_?" Davis asked excitedly as they walked.

"Um. Yeah." Roy muttered, trying not to burst out laughing.

"D'ya like her?" Rex probed.

"Not like that." Roy shook his head.

"Score! Dibs if she's hot!" Rex roared, laughing and shoving Davis to the side. Davis shoved him back and Roy considered running off and leaving them by themselves.

When they reached the front desk, Gemma stood up and her eyes widened in shock. She hadn't been expecting Roy to bring his friends.

"Mine." Rex growled to Davis under his breath.

"Hey, Gemma? These are my friends. Davis, Rex and Cloud." Roy introduced them. "Guys, this is Gemma."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." Rex said, reaching out a hand. Gemma giggled and shook it, then shaking Davis and Cloud's hands also.

"Well guys, you'd better get back to your jobs." Roy then said, stepping beside Gemma and turning back to face them.

"You rat bag! Stop rubbing it in!" Davis snapped.

"Just wait 'til it's your turn." Roy chuckled in reply. Davis laughed and grinned at that, nodding.

"You bet. When it's my turn you'll never hear the end of it." Davis said. "See you later, then."

"Bye, Gemma." Rex said, winking. Cloud hung back slightly, waiting for Davis and Rex to get away a bit before looking up at Roy.

"When are you gonna get back?" he asked nervously, glancing at Gemma.

"Uh, not sure. Probably this afternoon." Roy looked over at Gemma to confirm and then turned back to Cloud, grinning. "You'll survive without me." He reached over and ruffled the spiky blonde hair and laughed when Cloud ducked away slightly, going red.

"Bye." Cloud said, looking at Gemma once more before following after Rex and Davis quickly.

"Oh my gosh they're all so cute!" Gemma exclaimed once they were out of ear shot. Roy laughed and grabbed her hand, leading her outside into the sunlight.

"Come on, I have _got_ to find a bathroom." Roy said, already searching with his eyes.

"Couldn't you use one in there?" Gemma asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not if you want to talk to Kayli." Roy said, walking off to the left. Gemma muttered 'oh' and quickly followed.

"How are you going to get into the girls bathroom for starters?" Gemma asked. Roy stopped walking and turned back to her, his eyes narrowed.

"I didn't think of that." he admitted.

"Well it's a good thing you've got me!" Gemma laughed. "C'mon, I don't mind hanging out with Roy for a day."

"You sure?" Roy asked, frowning in concern.

"Relax, I'm positive!" Gemma laughed. Roy grinned and rolled his eyes and the two of them walked off to find something to do.

* * *

That afternoon Roy walked back into his room to find it empty. He glanced at his watch and figured everyone else must still be finishing up with their last tasks of the day, so he sat on his bed and pulled out a mirror to quickly re-check his appearance before anyone else arrived.

Satisfied that he still looked good, he put his mirror away and had a look at his schedule for tomorrow. In the morning he would be helping a SOLDIER move some office supplies from its current residence in the back of a truck to various office's through the ShinRa building.

Wait, _what_?

Roy read back over the description of his task for the morning of the next day and almost fainted. He was going to be helping a SOLDIER.

_ He_ was going to be helping a_ SOLDIER_.

The door to the room opened and Davis walked in, heading straight to his bed and flopping down in exhaustion. He let out a strangled sound that might have been a groan, and Roy came out of his shock to look over.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Fine." Davis waved a floppy hand in Roy's direction, not even looking to make sure he got it right. "Tired from a full day, that's all."

"Oh. What stuff did you do?" Roy questioned, wondering if infantrymen often helped out other SOLDIERs and him being chosen to work with one the next day was nothing special.

"Fixed an elevator. Polished guns." Davis groaned loudly and pushed himself to a sitting position. "You have no idea how hard it is to fix an elevator. They had someone there to show me the ropes and stuff, but I kept stuffing it up and the dude got real angry."

"Serious? They make us fix elevators?" Roy asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah. So that took half the day and _then_ I had to polish all those guns we saw yesterday. And guess who was supervising me? Our instructor! I swear he wants to get me kicked out. He was yelling at me the entire time telling me I was doing it wrong. And then he started asking me questions about what type of guns they were and got even angrier when I was getting them all right!" Davis sighed and leant his head in one hand.

"So that's all you did today? What have you got tomorrow?" Roy stood up and went back over to his bag to shove his schedule in.

"Uh, can't remember." Davis shrugged. "But how was your day off? Any fun?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that." Roy grinned. "We hung out at the shops pretty much all day. Gemma loves that kind of stuff."

"You sure you two ain't dating?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Positive." Roy chuckled. "What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nah." Davis shook his head. "Haven't gotten that lucky yet."

Rex and Cloud walked in then, and Rex was at Roy's side in an instant. His eyes had a mischievous glint to them and Roy backed up slightly, frowning in confusion.

"Did you talk about me?" Rex asked.

"What?" Roy's frown deepened.

"To Gemma! Did you talk about me?" Rex repeated his question.

"Oh," Roy rolled his eyes with a grin. "No." Rex's jaw dropped open and he feigned a hurt expression.

"How could you!?" he exclaimed melodramatically.

"Sorry." Roy grinned.

"As if." Rex snapped teasingly. "Be sure to tell her all about me next time though, okay?" Roy laughed but nodded, agreeing. Rex then walked back over to Cloud and ruffled his hair, gaining the same response that everyone got when they did that.

"What did you guys do today?" Roy asked.

"Oh yeah! That's what I was going to tell you." Rex said, spinning back around to look at both Roy and Davis. "We moved _furniture_!"

Davis looked over at Roy and Roy looked over at Davis. They both burst out laughing at the same time.

"What?" Davis spluttered. "You moved furniture? You've got to be pulling my leg, here!"

"I'm not joking! Cloud and I were paired together to move furniture. But not just _any_ furniture, mind you. We moved the _President's_ furniture." Rex grinned smugly and put his hands on his hips, looking proud of himself.

"You moved the President's furniture?" Roy asked.

"Yes."

"That's boring." Roy turned away to hide a smile and Rex made stuttering noises.

"You're just jealous!" Rex snapped, but also couldn't keep the humour from his own voice. Cloud sat down on his bed and let out a sigh, stretching.

"It wasn't actually _that_ interesting." he muttered.

"Traitor!" Rex yelled, covering his face with one hand and turning away. Cloud chuckled and rolled his eyes. Roy and Davis exchanged another look, both with one eyebrow raised. They then shook their heads slowly, as if disappointed in Rex.

"Stop doing that!" Rex snapped.

"What?" Davis and Roy asked at the same time.

"That! You look at each other at the same time, raise the same eyebrows, shake your heads at exactly the same time and even _speak_ at the same time saying the _same thing_!" Rex explained, throwing his hands up.

"That's interesting." Roy said.

"That's very interesting." Davis agreed, smirking. Roy grinned and sat down on his bed, beginning to pull his shoes off.

"It is pretty freaky." Cloud said quietly.

"You'll get over it." Davis laughed, pulling out his schedule to look at what he had the next day. "No way!"

"What? What have you got?" Roy asked, shoving his shoes aside and coming to stand next to him. Davis jabbed a finger at his schedule and made squeaking noises as if he couldn't get the actual words out.

"Dude, say it! Stop acting like a fish." Rex said. Davis closed his mouth and glared over at Rex before turning back to his schedule again.

"It says I'm gonna be cleaning those stupid guns again! That can't be right! I already cleaned them today." Davis groaned.

"Maybe they're being used tonight?" Roy suggested, shrugging.

"That's so stupid." Davis growled. "And then we've got the guns class right after that, which sucks. Then we've got our first lesson in... in... in _swimming_!? They're making us take swimming lessons?"

"Gosh, Davis. You're acting like it's the end of the world or something." Roy laughed, shoving him in the shoulder.

"Swimming, Roy! Swimming!" Davis said, turning to face him properly. "I've never learnt how to swim before! I'll look like a fool!"

As he was talking, something in Roy's face changed. Roy stared at him, eyes slowly widening and mouth falling open in shock.

"Swimming..." he mumbled.

"Roy? Do you get me now?" Davis asked.

"No way!" Roy dashed over to his bag, pulling his schedule out to double check. And there it was, written neatly after his task for the morning. _Swimming_.

"Dude, you guys are going psycho for no reason." Rex commented. Roy straightened up, his schedule still in one hand.

"Did you guys bring swimming gear?" he asked slowly.

"I didn't!" Davis shouted, obviously wanting to be heard loud and clear.

"I did, just in case we'd have to or something." Rex shrugged. Roy turned to Cloud and the blonde boy shrank back slightly at the look of desperation on his face.

"I... I didn't." Cloud mumbled.

"Me neither! What are we gonna do?" Roy looked as if he was going to die if a solution wasn't found, and Davis slowly forget his problem with not being able to swim. Was Roy seriously this upset because he didn't have board shorts?

"Don't you have some old shorts you can wear?" Rex asked.

"No!" Roy snapped. "Of course I don't!"

"Then you can borrow some of mi-"

"No! Stop! Let me think!" Roy sat down on the edge of his bed and put his head in his hands, gently rocking back and forth as he tried to think. The other three boys stayed silent, waiting for what was going to happen next.

Roy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He brought his head out of his hands and looked up at Davis. He seemed more confident now and less like the entire world was falling apart around him.

"I have a fear of water." Roy said.

"Oh. Why didn't you say that before?" Rex asked.

"Yeah!" Davis agreed, nodding. "And hey, this way we can both look stupid! You because you're terrified of water and me because I don't know how to swim!"

"Don't you get it? I have a fear of water! I can't go in water!" Roy said angrily, trying to make them understand.

"Why can't you go in?" Davis asked, frowning.

"Because it freaks me out!" Roy growled. "Isn't there anything _you're_ terrified of? That you would never do no matter what?"

"There's nothing I wouldn't do to be a SOLDIER." Davis said.

Roy and Davis stared at each other, Roy glaring angrily and Davis trying to be understanding. Roy stood up from his bed again and folded his arms, not breaking the eye contact.

"Fine. I guess people like you will just never be able to understand." Roy said bluntly.

"Roy, come on-"

"Whatever! I don't care! End of subject." Roy turned and busied himself with rummaging through his bag. Davis sighed and sat down on his bed, shoving his schedule away and then looking over at Rex to shrug helplessly.

* * *

The clock struck one o'clock and Roy rolled out of bed silently, being stealthy so he wouldn't wake up anyone else. He slipped on a pair of shoes, grabbing some from his bag and snuck out of his room.

Breathing slowly to keep himself calm, Roy finally made his way to the door marked 'STAIRS' and quietly slipped inside, walking up them. He didn't know what he would do if he encountered someone else on the stairs as well, but he just hoped everyone else would use the elevator now that it was fixed.

Roy walked for a long time before finally reaching a door that said 'EXIT' instead of one of the floor numbers. He turned the handle and stepped out onto a small balcony, closing the door behind him.

"Come on, Gem..." he muttered, flipping open his phone and typing in her number. It was quite a few rings before she answered.

"Er.. Kayli?" Gemma asked groggily. She had obviously been sleeping.

"Gemma I need your help. I've got a swimming class!" Roy hissed.

There was silence from the other end for a moment and Roy tried to be patient as he waited for her to say something. He then heard Gemma sigh and turn on a light.

"Sounds like you're in a bit of a fix." Gemma said.

"Yeah. I've told my friends I've got a fear of water but I don't know if that's enough to get out of it. If it's not, what do I do?" Roy asked, glancing back at the door to make sure no one was about to walk through.

"Fear of water. Um, hopefully that will work. If it doesn't I have no idea, sorry." Gemma said sadly.

"Great." Roy muttered.

"I'm sorry." Gemma repeated.

"I know, I know. I just... I can't let a stupid little thing like a swimming lesson stand between me and SOLDIER." Roy explained.

"I know." Gemma said. "For now just put all your effort into the fear-of-water plan and see if it works."

"Okay." Roy sighed and nodded although Gemma couldn't see. "I should be getting back then."

"Yeah, and try not to ever call me at one-thirty ever again." Gemma growled jokingly.

"Ha, okay." Roy grinned. "See you later then."

They both hung up and Roy gently eased the door open again, heading back down the stairs the way he'd come. _Please let them believe I have a fear of water and not force me to try and overcome it._


	4. Chapter 4

Roy made his way outside to find the truck which contained the supplies he would be moving with the help of a SOLDIER. He grinned to himself as he recalled the conversation he'd had with Davis that morning.

"What? You're working with a SOLDIER?" Davis had gasped.

"Uh, yeah..." Roy mumbled cautiously.

"No way! Why d'you always get the best deal?" Davis whined.

Roy stiffened slightly and was brought from his recollection as he saw a SOLDIER leaning against one of the trucks with an incredibly bored expression on his face. He swallowed and squared his shoulders, walking straight up and saluting.

"Ah, so you must be Roy Peters." the SOLDIER said, pushing away from the truck and standing up straight.

"Yes, Sir." Roy confirmed with a nod.

"I see. I'm Genesis Rhapsodos, SOLDIER 1st Class." the man introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure, Sir." Roy gushed out, and immediately felt silly. He ducked his head, feeling his cheeks flame up in embarrassment. The SOLDIER with red hair simply smirked in amusement.

"I believe you are aware of our task outline?" Genesis asked.

"Yes, Sir." Roy said again.

"Good. Then let's get to work at once." Genesis moved to the back of the truck and opened the door, reaching inside to grab something and then handing it over to Roy.

Once Roy's hands were full of things Genesis had handed to him and Genesis also had as much as he could carry, they walked off towards the building again and straight to the elevator, where Genesis pressed the number forty-nine once they were inside.

"So are you here to become a SOLDIER?" Genesis asked curiously.

"Yes, Sir." Roy nodded. "It's my dream."

"Why?" Genesis probed with a shrug. Roy frowned slightly, thinking over the question. He knew the answer, but he also knew he couldn't say it or everything he'd done in the past three months would be for nothing.

"I guess I want to be a hero." he settled for.

Genesis looked over at him and narrowed his eyes as if analysing him. Could he tell? Did he know? Was it obvious?

"I don't think you do." he said softly, and then let out a loud sigh. "Whatever, it's not my place to ask."

Roy clenched his teeth nervously, realising he should have known better than to lie to a SOLDIER. He looked up to watch the number of floors flash by, getting closer to their destination.

"Ah, crap."

Roy looked over and his eyes widened at the sight he saw. Genesis Rhapsodos had begun juggling his items over to one arm (which was quite an amazing feat) and then proceeded to pull his PHS from his pocket and hold it to his ear.

"What!?" the SOLDIER snapped, keeping an eye on the numbers of the floors. "You're joking! What, right now!?" He let out a sigh and gave Roy an exasperated look, beginning to tap his foot. "No, listen- Hey!"

The elevator gave a small ding sound as it reached their wanted floor and Roy hurriedly stepped out, putting what he had been carrying onto the floor and then turning back to help Genesis with his arm-load. Genesis gave him a thankful smile.

"Seph, be rational." Genesis said, still talking to whoever had called him.

Roy's eyes widened at what Genesis had said to address the person he was speaking to. Could he really be speaking to General Sephiroth?

"If I leave now this infantryman's gonna screw something up." Genesis sighed, holding some of the things in one arm and walking off towards one of the office's. Roy's eyes darkened at that. He would _not_ screw anything up! ...as long as he knew what he was doing.

Genesis continued talking and absent-mindedly knocked on the door of an office before going in without waiting for an answer. As Roy followed behind, he thought for a moment that Zack was inside, however as it turned out it wasn't Zack.

"Oh, finally." the man said, standing and walking over to grab some of the things from Roy. He worked silently beside Genesis as the two of them set everything up and Roy stood back awkwardly, waiting to be told what to do.

"Stop trying to persuade me." Genesis growled. "I do _not_ want to come."

"Where does he want you to go?" the man in the room asked.

"To Wutai." Genesis muttered, and then said, "Look, do you want to talk to Angeal?" The man, Angeal, hurriedly backed up and shot Genesis an angry look, but the PHS was already being thrust at him. Grumbling, he held it up to his ear.

"No." he said simply, then handing it back to Genesis. The red-head narrowed his eyes angrily but took it.

"Seph, how many times do I have to tell you to buy yourself a puppy?"

This time, Sephiroth's answer was so loud even Roy could hear it – and he didn't even have mako hearing.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU I DO NOT WANT A PUPPY!?"

"Oh, relax, Seph!" Genesis rolled his eyes. "I was just kidding. Hey, why don't you just pass it off onto someone else? Like one of the thirds. Make them go instead of you."

Roy could hear Sephiroth muttering something in response and Genesis smirked.

"Anyway, I really have to go now. This kid's looking freaked out." Genesis said with a glance at Roy, then rolled his eyes at something Sephiroth said. "Of course I'm not keeping a count of how many times you give away your missions!" Genesis mouthed a 'thirty-three' to Angeal and the two shared a silent chuckle.

"Okay, Seph. That's nice." Genesis said sarcastically. "Yes, this is me telling you to shut up and get off the phone." He then said goodbye and hung up, putting his PHS back into his pocket.

"He should get a puppy, though." Angeal said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, if he did he wouldn't annoy us as much." Genesis agreed. "C'mon Peters. Let's go get the rest of this stuff."

Leading Roy back to the elevator and then out to the trunk, Genesis piled them both up with objects before they set off the way they had come for the second time. This continued on for about six times, by the end of which Roy knew how to set up printers, computers, phones, fax machines, type-writers, and just about everything else that was operated by technology.

Roy also came to the conclusion that, if given the chance, he could definitely eat three large elephants; he was that hungry.

"You've done well today." Genesis said as he walked with him back to the elevator. "I've never seen anyone connect computer wires so fast their first time."

"Maybe no one else was shown how to do it fives times first." Roy shot back with a grin. He felt more comfortable when talking to the SOLDIER now and completely forgot to add a 'sir' to the end of his sentence. Fortunately, Genesis seemed to have forgotten too.

Finally making his way to the cafeteria for lunch, Roy sunk down into a seat beside Rex and let his head thump loudly onto the table.

"You look dead." Rex commented, happily eating his own food.

"Eh, feel it." Roy muttered, prying his head off the table and grabbing one of the stacked trays. Pulling himself to his feet, he went over and stood in line to get some food(actually a _lot_ of food) before sitting beside Rex again.

"So who'd you work with?" Rex asked.

"Genesis Rhapsodos. He's got red hair." Roy explained, shovelling some food into his mouth and sighing happily.

"What did you do?" Rex questioned before also piling food into his own mouth.

"Mm," Roy quickly finished eating his mouthful and then continued. "Set up office equipment."

"Really? How'd you go?"

"Alright." Roy shrugged. "It was so tiring though. Those boxes weigh a tonne each!"

"Good for you, yeah? Maybe they'll let you off swimming for today. You could tell 'em you worked with a SOLDIER-"

Roy's head shot up and he dropped what he was holding, staring ahead with a horror-stricken look in his eyes.

"No way..." he mumbled. He had completely forgotten about their swimming lesson after lunch.

"You really hate water that much, do you?" Rex asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Hate it. Stacks." Roy spluttered. Rex looked over at him again and his eyes widened as he saw his friend shaking and hyperventilating.

"Hey, wanna go talk to the instructor now?" Rex asked, putting down his fork. "You won't have to do it. So long as you keep this up so they can see..."

"Uh-" Roy's teeth chattered and he gripped the table with both hands, his knuckles turning white with the strain.

"Come on." Rex said, standing and tugging on Roy's arm to make him follow. Roy got to his feet, swaying slightly as he stumbled after his friend.

The two made their way first back to their room, where Rex rummaged for his schedule to find out who the instructor actually was. Once he found out, however, he refused to tell Roy and dragged him away from their room quickly, leaving the schedule behind.

"Don't worry about it. I'll do all the talking." Rex said. Roy was still shaking and now had to hold onto Rex's arm to stop from collapsing.

"B-but I-"

"It doesn't matter who the instructor is." Rex snapped.

Reaching the elevator, Rex shoved Roy inside and stepped in behind, pressing the number forty-nine.

"W-why are we going to th-the SOLDIER lev-"

"Who cares?" Rex asked hotly. "Just keep thinking about swimming." Roy shuddered and when the elevator finally tinged Rex pulled him out, looking around frantically.

They wandered down corridors, with no real idea of where they were going. Roy continued asking and Rex continued shutting him down fast. Finally, they were stopped by another SOLDIER who wanted to know what they thought they were doing on the SOLDIER floor unaccompanied.

"We're looking for General Sephiroth. We have something urgent to discuss." Rex explained. Roy whimpered and fought to get out of Rex's grip.

"What do you need to talk to him about?" the SOLDIER asked, giving Roy a weird look.

"He's our instructor for swimming and Roy's got a fear of water." Rex said, frowning as he tried to make Roy stop squirming.

"I'll go get him." the SOLDIER said, shooting Roy another look before walking off.

"Stop it!" Rex snapped as soon as the SOLDIER was out of ear-shot. "You're making yourself look like even more of a fool than you already are."

"B-but he can't meet me like this!" Roy complained, his eyes wide in terror.

"It's your own fault!" Rex exclaimed.

"You don't understand-"

"What's going on here?"

They both froze, although Roy continued shaking, and looked over to see the General walking up with a frown on his face. He looked incredibly unimpressed.

"Uh, sir... about the swimming lesson this afternoon?" Rex said slowly, his own fear of talking to _General Sephiroth_ finally showing itself.

"What about it?" Sephiroth asked, glancing at his watch. "You've still got another half an hour before it starts."

"Yes, sir, but you see," Rex pulled Roy forward slightly as he had been trying to sneak away. "He's got a fear of water."

"I see." Sephiroth said, his eyes taking in Roy's quivering form. "And?"

"And it's terrible, sir!" Rex continued. "I just said the word 'swimming' and he went off his nut like this!"

"What's your name?" Sephiroth snapped, his full attention now turned to Roy.

"R-Roy Peters." Roy stuttered, his eyes fixed to the floor.

"You will accompany me to the pool this instant." Sephiroth turned his eyes back to Rex. "Dismissed."

Roy shot Rex a look of panic before slowly stumbling forward over his own feet. Sephiroth put a firm hand on his shoulder and steered him away, back to his office to grab a few things and then all the way out to the in-door pool on another floor.

Roy didn't stop trembling. He knew he must look like a fool, but not only was he about to be forced into water, he was also going to be doing so with the General watching his every move!

Sephiroth walked right over to the side of the pool, watching as Roy tried to squirm away. He then let go of the boys shoulder and folded his arms. Roy took one step back from the edge.

"What is it about water that frightens you?" Sephiroth asked calmly.

"I- I don't know." Roy mumbled.

"Yes you do." Sephiroth replied. His voice was still calm. Roy tore his eyes away from the water and looked up at Sephiroth. The General was watching him curiously, as though trying to figure out what frightened him just by watching his body language.

"I don't know, sir." Roy repeated.

"Is it the thought of drowning?" Sephiroth asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Uh, maybe." Roy shrugged.

"This may sound like a stupid question considering your fear, but can you swim?" Sephiroth asked. There was no humour in his eyes and Roy felt cornered. Surely the General already knew his secret and only wanted him to admit it?

"No, I can't swim sir." Roy answered, his voice quivering a little.

"Listen to me, Peters," Sephiroth said slowly. "You worked with one of my close friends this morning, Genesis Rhapsodos. He informed me that you would like to be a SOLDIER. Is this correct?"

Roy hurriedly nodded.

"Then let me tell you something. SOLDIERs have to be the best of the best. They learn mainly how to use swords but also how to use guns in case they ever end up in a situation where that is all they have. If I did not know how to swim and in order to save someone from imminent death I had to do just that – what would happen?"

Sephiroth was watching Roy's face for a reaction, and the sinking feeling in Roy's heart was plainly shown on his face.

"Whoever you had to save would die." Roy whispered.

"Exactly." Sephiroth nodded. "So, if you _really_ want to be a SOLDIER, you have to learn how to swim. Can you do this?"

Roy had an inkling that Sephiroth had probably had to persuade an infantryman to conquer a fear over something in order to be a SOLDIER in the past; he also knew that if he really was Roy Peters – afraid of water – hearing Sephiroth say what he had just said would have made him jump head first into the pool to prove himself. Unfortunately, Roy wasn't actually Roy.

"I'm sorry sir," Roy said, lowering his gaze to the ground. "I can't."

"Then you and I are both wasting our time." Sephiroth said instantly. "If you are going to let a fear of water stand between you and your chance at being a SOLDIER then you don't want it enough."

"Sir, I do-!"

"Unless you can get into that water right now and show me how much you want to be a SOLDIER, I will have you out of here by tomorrow morning!" Sephiroth snapped. Roy knew without a doubt that he meant business.

"Fine." Roy replied quickly. He felt his face burning in anger and turned to the pool, jumping in. _Idiot, I'll never get out of swimming lesson's now..._

When he resurfaced and came over to the side to hold on, Sephiroth had squatted down.

"What is it that frightens you about water?" he asked again.

"I'm self-conscious sir." Roy said without even thinking it over. "Swimming means you only wear board-shorts."

Sephiroth stood up and laughed. The sight was so far from what Roy had expected that he actually began hyperventilating again.

"You- you don't want to wear board-shorts..." Sephiroth turned away and seemed to be struggling to calm himself down. Then he turned back around, only a slight smile remaining on his face. "You're serious?" he asked, just to be sure.

"Yes, sir." Roy said.

"Well then, we'll have to boost your ego." Sephiroth chuckled as if enjoying a private joke. "Oh, and Peters? You shouldn't lie about not being able to swim."

"Sir-"

"I want you to do two laps right now. Go."

Sephiroth walked over to sit on one of the benches and watched as Roy stared with his mouth open. Finally, after narrowing his eyes angrily, Roy pushed away from the wall of the pool and disappeared under the water.

Sephiroth watched as Roy's figure swam towards the end of the pool without coming up to get a breath. When Roy's hands touched the end he brought his head up to take a big breath, shoot a glare at Sephiroth, and then he went back under.

For the rest of the half hour before their class would actually be officially starting, Sephiroth drilled Roy about the importance of being a SOLDIER and conquering fears.

"Alright, you can go." Sephiroth said, glancing at his watch.

"But sir, class is about to-"

"I said you could go." Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and looked up at Roy, as if challenging him to argue any more.

"Yes sir." Roy said stiffly, turning towards the door they had entered through and wondering momentarily whether or not he should take a towel with him; he was dripping everywhere.

"Oh, two more things." Sephiroth said. Roy turned back to him and noticed that a hint of a smirk was on his face. "You'll need to use that door," he gestured to a door at the opposite side of the room, "And make sure you fix your make-up before being seen in public again.

Roy's eyes widened and he stared, gob-smacked, at the General. _My make-up?_

"Oh come on, you don't need me to help you walk now too, do you?" Sephiroth asked with a sigh.

"Uh, no sir." Roy shook his head. Taking a deep breath, he headed towards the door he was to leave through. As he walked, he touched his face with his fingers and felt his heart-rate speed up as he noticed the make-up coming off on them.

_Why didn't he tell me to grab my things and leave?_

With one last backward glance, Roy slipped out the door and hurried to the main building and into his room. Taking advantage of having the room and bathrooms to himself, he grabbed a towel and rushed to the shower.

_I won't ever be able to sleep again without knowing if he's going to tell someone or not. But then again, maybe he just thinks I'm a guy that wears make-up? I mean, I said I was self-conscious, so maybe that's all he thinks it is..._

_Oh boy, I hope so._


	5. Chapter 5

Roy was taking advantage of the situation while he could. After having a shower he had gone back to his room and pulled out his make-up, re-applying it quickly. Once that was done and he was satisfied with the face that stared back at him in his pocket-mirror, he pulled out his phone and called Gemma.

"Hello?"

"Gemma! I'm dead!"

"What!? Who found out? Where are you? I'll probably be about twenty minutes-"

"Gemma! Listen to me! _General Sephiroth knows I wear make-up._ I don't know if he knows I'm a girl though, because he didn't say anything about it or kick me out. I'm still in! But I'm treading on dangerous ground!" Roy explained.

"Wow," was all Gemma could think of to say.

"I pretended to be scared of water and all, even shaking uncontrollably and stuff, but then he was such a jerk and made me swim anyway! He told me he'd kick me out if I didn't get in the water! And then he laughed at me when I told him I had self-esteem issues!"

"That is _so_ mean!" Gemma exclaimed.

"I know! And like, this was all before our actual lesson even started. So he made me leave when the lesson started and that's why I'm calling you. It's the only time I have really. After this they'll be back and I won't be able to talk to you any more. But what am I gonna do?"

"I have no idea." Gemma said honestly.

"Argh!" Roy sighed, and then his eyes widened as he heard lots of feet entering the corridor outside his room. "I've gotta go! Sorry. I'll write you a letter or something. Bye!"

"Bye, Roy!" Roy heard Gemma snicker and rolled his eyes as he hung up.

The door was flung open and Rex walked in first with a towel around his shoulders. Davis came in next and Cloud was at the back.

"You okay?" Rex asked, shooting Roy a slightly concerned look.

"Yeah." Roy nodded.

"What happened?" Davis asked, bending over and shaking the water out of his hair.

"Not much." Roy shrugged.

"Oh come on, give an interesting answer!" Rex laughed. "What happened when you got to the pool?"

"Well, he wanted to know what it was that scared me about water." Roy shrugged a second time. "Can we not talk about it?"

Davis exchanged a glance with Rex and then also shrugged, going to sit on his bed. "Suit yourself." he said.

"What did you guys do all lesson?" Roy asked curiously.

"Swam laps." Rex said, going over to rummage through his back for something. "He said if we hadn't done at least twenty by the end of the lesson we weren't good enough." Roy's eyes widened in shock and Rex laughed when he saw it. "It's okay, we all did it."

"Yeah, no big deal really."

Roy nodded absently as Rex continued to tell him funny stories about what happened. Davis joined in to add sound effects now and again. But Roy's mind was on Sephiroth. Did the General know? If he did, why hadn't he thrown him out?

"Roy? Are you even listening?"

"Mm hmm." Roy nodded again, staring at the ground with a slight frown on his face.

"Hey, what's up?" Davis asked. "You're out of it."

"Huh?" Roy looked up and suddenly noticed that all three of his room-mates were staring at him. "Oh, sorry..."

"Seriously, what happened at the pool?" Davis probed.

"It's not important." Roy shook his head.

"Come on, talk to us! We're your friends aren't we?" Davis gave a pout and Roy rolled his eyes, standing up.

"I'm gonna go for a walk." he said and headed for the door.

"Dodger!" Davis yelled suddenly and quite loudly. Roy stopped, turned back and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Dodger! You're dodging the question!" Davis explained, giving a cheeky grin. Roy chuckled and rolled his eyes, giving in.

"Look, he basically forced me in the water with the threat that he'd kick me out if I didn't, okay?" Roy folded his arms and raised both eyebrows as he looked from Davis to Rex and then over to Cloud, who was sitting cross-legged on his bed and watching the scene before him as if he was at the movies.

"Serious?" Davis asked. "That's so cool!"

"Cool? Where the heck did your brain just go?" Rex snapped, glaring over at him. "Roy's gonna be scarred for life!"

"I didn't mean the whole getting forced into the water bit, I meant the fact that Sephiroth actually spent the time to talk to you personally about getting kicked out!" Davis said with a tone of voice that said 'duh'.

"Oh yeah, makes me feel so special." Roy said sarcastically.

"How many other people do you know that have had private swimming lessons with the General?" Davis asked.

"You're crazy. You know that?" Roy said with a small amused grin.

"Absolutely." Davis replied, smiling widely.

"Hey, we've got guns again tonight." Cloud commented suddenly. He was looking down at his schedule and his head was tilted to one side. "Do you think he'd actually...?" He trailed off and bit his lip nervously.

"Of course he won't actually shoot one of us." Roy said, walking over and sitting beside the blond. "At least, not if we're good."

"What if I do something wrong accidentally?" Cloud asked.

"You won't." said Roy encouragingly. Cloud gave a small smile of thanks.

"When are you seeing your friend again?" Rex piped up.

"Gemma?" Roy asked, standing up again.

"Yeah, her." Rex nodded. A dreamy smile had appeared on his face and he was staring off into the distance. "She's gorgeous, don't you think?"

"Um, this is my friend we're talking about." Roy said, stifling a laugh.

"Yeah but, just think about the way her golden hair swishes around in the breeze! And her blue eyes... when they glitter mischievously." Rex let out a sigh and promptly sat down on the floor right where he was standing.

"Weren't you talking just the other day about how gorgeous the secretary is?" Davis asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey! I'm allowed to like more than one girl!" Rex said defensively.

"I never said otherwise!" Davis laughed.

"Play-_er_." Roy sang under his breath, a teasing grin on his face as Rex shot him a glare. They were all interrupted as there was a sudden loud 'whack' against their door. Davis folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, looking over at the door as if it had just said a really lame joke that was _not_ funny at all.

"Ow! Ow ow ow! Let go Angeal!"

"Is that Zack?" Cloud questioned from his bed.

"Probably." Roy shrugged as he bent over his bag and pulled out his schedule.

"I SURRENDER!"

"SHUT UP!"

Roy, Cloud and Rex all froze and slowly turned to stare at Davis. His arms flopped to his sides and a delighted grin broke out on his face.

"I just yelled at a SOLDIER!" he hissed in excitement.

With a slam, the door to their room swung open and Angeal stood there, his hands on his hips and a glare on his face. His eyes zeroed in on Davis and he walked over until he was towering above the boy.

"Oh, give him a break! You were being pretty loud." Zack said from the doorway. He grinned and winked at Davis.

"Apologise." Angeal ordered.

"I'm sorry." Davis obeyed.

"Good. Now follow me." Angeal turned and marched out of the room. With a quick backward glance, Davis walked after him.

"Ah! He's so screwed." Zack said in amusement as he watched them walk away. He then turned his attention to the three in the room and beamed. "What have you guys got this afternoon?"

"Guns." Roy supplied the answer.

"Oh that sucks. Do you know when you're starting with swords? 'Cause let me tell you! They're the real weapons!" Zack nodded in a knowing way, his eyes wide.

"Uh, not sure." Rex said.

"Too bad." Zack shrugged sheepishly and Rex shot Roy a glance. "You suckers will have to deal with what you've got." In the next moment, Zack was walking down the hallway with his hands behind his head, whistling very loudly and out of key.

Rex darted over to shut the door and once again began trying to figure out a lock. Roy sighed and looked down at his schedule which was still in his hand.

"We've got field practice tomorrow." he said aloud.

"What's that?" Cloud asked.

"Sounds like we'll be running." Rex's voice was slightly muffled as he was bent over the door handle.

"Well whatever they make us do, I hope it doesn't take long because the next task is at three." Roy told them.

"Three? You serious? That's awesome! We'll have like, half the day off!" He gave up on the door and walked over to his own bed, grabbing his own schedule to double check the information Roy had said.

"Yeah, seeing as running wouldn't possible take that much time." Roy grinned.

* * *

The following day Rex, Roy, Cloud and Davis all stood in the pouring rain out on the field with the others in their section. Davis had recounted his adventure the previous night to his room mates of how he had been forced to run on a treadmill for two hours straight. That was also the reason why he had turned up to guns late.

Swiping some of his hair out of his eyes, Rex glanced over at Davis. The two of them shared a look of dread before they turned back to face the front again.

Their instructor was someone they hadn't seen before; someone incredibly muscular. He had a mop of brown hair on his head and dark eyes.

"Alright! Listen up and listen good because I'm not going to repeat myself. Today you will be running all along the edge of this field until midday. _Running_. Not walking. Not skipping. Not doing cartwheels. Not crawling. Not sprinting because you won't be able to. If you do any one of the things I have just outlined I will keep you here until three o'clock and you will prove to me just how long you can run. AM I CLEAR!?"

"Sir, yes, Sir!" came the chant from all the boys.

"Good! Now get moving!"

The boys began moving forward, slowly merging into a tighter group. Roy was strangely thankful for all the mud that flew up from their feet as it splattered onto his face and hid his physical features even more than the blurring rain had done.

Five laps later, Rex was lagging at the back of the group with a couple other boys who looked like they were going to pass out any minute. The instructor was standing in the middle of the field, not taking his eyes off the group as they made their journey together. He had a haughty but impressed look on his face as he observed them.

Roy was at about the middle of the group, with Davis running at his side. They spared a moment to glance at each other and the same thought seemed to pass between them. _How on earth is Cloud at the front?_

Ten more laps later one of the boys at the back slowed to a walk, coughing and spluttering as he did so. He put a hand on his chest and collapsed to his knees, squeezing his eyes shut as his coughs used up the reserves of his energy.

Turning around, Rex jogged back over to him and dropped beside the boy. He had seen the instructor heading over and although he himself felt too weak to continue, he pulled on the boys arm and together they managed to stand up. The instructor had stopped walking and was now simply observing again. He seemed to find something about their situation amusing.

Rex and the boy he had helped struggled to begin jogging again. They were trembling all over and completely covered in mud. _What's the time? Isn't it midday yet?_ Rex thought helplessly.

"Here! Jump on!"

Rex looked up to see Cloud in front of them, gesturing at the boy and then to his back. The boy gave another loud cough before weakly shaking his head.

"He'll... he'll keep me until..." the boy broke off as he coughed again and Cloud looked around impatiently.

"Just get on my back! He never said you couldn't do that!" Cloud snapped. The boy glanced over at the instructor through the rain again before stepping forward and climbing onto Cloud's back. Rex stared in disbelief as the scrawny, small blond kid that he had assumed was weak took off running again easily.

Roy and Davis had wondered what Cloud was doing when he did an abrupt U-turn and ran back through the group, but now that they saw him running past with a person on his back they came to the conclusion that they had been right in their first thoughts anyway. Cloud was insane.

How he managed to keep running like that without looking like he was out of breath or tired in the least was beyond their understanding. Roy was just beginning to wonder if Cloud had illegally taken mako when his foot slipped out from beneath him and he landed face first in the mud.

"Get up you slacker!" came Davis' faraway voice as he continued running. Roy was sure if he just lifted his head he would see a huge grin on his friends face, but for some reason he felt he couldn't do that.

_I can't lift my head._

Roy brought his hands up closer to his head and tried pushing off the ground. With an almighty 'squelch' his face came out of the mud and he began spitting it out of his mouth. Once he was sure he'd gotten all the mud out of his mouth, he suddenly began to laugh.

Due to the amount of energy he had already used up while running, laughing just about finished him off. He rolled over onto his back and closed his eyes as he laughed up at the sky. He wasn't sure what he found funny, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that he had just face-planted.

And then he was being wrenched up by a firm hand and was staring into his instructors angry face. Pressing his lips together to try and hold his laughs in, Roy felt as if he was going to explode.

"What were you doing on the ground?" his instructor demanded.

Roy did his best. He truly did his best to stop from laughing in his instructors face. The thing which set him off, however, was the sight of the rest of his entire section hiding in the area behind his instructor all trying to recover while they were not being watched like a hawk.

Which is how he ended up saving them all from doing any more laps as his instructor dragged him inside the building to talk to General Sephiroth about a lack of respect.

* * *

"Thank you, you are dismissed."

Roy's instructor saluted and then marched out of the room. Roy suddenly became fascinated with the mud covering his shoes and refused to look up into the face of Sephiroth. The General, although slightly annoyed at being disturbed, was rather amused. He eyed Roy silently and patiently, fully prepared to wait a long time for the boy to begin to speak.

The silence in the room lasted for ten minutes before Roy's curiosity made him look up. Sephiroth's piercing stare seemed to pin him the instant their eyes connected and Roy felt his blood go cold. It was as if the prolonged wait was one of Sephiroth's techniques and it was working well. Roy felt a bit of mud slide down his cheek and gulped.

"I'm sorry, Sir," he spoke up. "It won't happen again."

The corner of Sephiroth's mouth twitched and then he let out a sigh. Clasping his hands together behind his back, he walked over to the single window in the room which was being lashed by the rain.

"I would like you to tell me, in your own words, exactly what happened during your training lesson." Sephiroth said quietly. Roy frowned slightly and, because Sephiroth was not watching, wiped as much mud off his face as he could. Then he proceeded to tell the General what had happened during the lesson, including when Cloud had gone back for the boy who wasn't strong enough and who's name Roy did not know. All the while he spoke, he tried to get the mud out of his hair and clothes.

Sephiroth turned back to him from the window and nodded to show he had heard.

"You may go."

Confused, yet not wanting to hang around for the General to change his mind, Roy saluted and walked out. He jumped in fright as he was met by a man in a long white coat, glasses and with a ponytail down his back.

"Sephiroth! You forgot to come for your check up!" the man pushed past Roy just as Roy covered his ears in horror. That voice! It was horrible!

Darting through the ShinRa halls, he finally found his way back to the shared showers and was thankful that they were empty. Everyone else must have showered while he was with Sephiroth, unless they were all still outside.

Once he had showered and gone back to his room, Roy heard the muffled voices which indicated that everyone else _had_ been outside and were only coming back now. The voices were cut off as they went into the showers.

Pulling out his phone, Roy sent a quick text message to Gemma. _Buy me a black wig that looks like my old long hair. I need to be me again!_

It wasn't too long before people started emerging from the showers and Roy looked up when Rex entered the room. There was a boy beside him who was wearing glasses and Roy recognised him as the boy who Cloud had helped.

"Roy! You're alive! I thought he was gonna skin you alive!" Rex said when he saw him.

"Got lucky, I guess." Roy grinned.

"Oh, Roy this is Edvard. Edvard this is Roy." Rex introduced the two of them. Roy nodded a greeting and Edvard pushed his glasses further up his nose.

"Where is he? I'm gonna hug him so tight his guts will come out!"

Roy laughed as he heard Davis' voice and watched as Rex and Edvard were shoved out of the way for him to come through. Davis saw Roy and grinned widely, walking over and picking him up as he hugged him.

"You saved us all!" he exclaimed happily. "Oh and did you meet Eddie?"

"Yeah, I did." Roy said as Davis let go of him and turned to face Edvard. Roy was glad that no one was looking at him, as his face had turned bright red.

"Where's Cloud?" Davis asked.

"Last I saw of him he was complaining of sore leg muscles. Serves him right, I reckon. Showing off like that..." Rex muttered, but there was a teasing smile on his face.

"What's with him anyway? He's so tiny! And so timid and everything. I _never_ expected him to be a good runner." Davis commented.

"Never in a million years!" Rex agreed.

"He's not _that_ small..." Edvard said quietly.

"Oh right, forgot you were about the same size as him. Sorry." Davis said, trying hard to contain a chuckle.

"Davis, you're so mean!" Roy laughed.

"Ah, but that's the way you like me!" Davis allowed a chuckle to come out and then turned back to Edvard. "So, what kind of things are you interested in?"

Edvard shifted uncomfortably at being the centre of attention and then shrugged. "I've always found science fascinating I guess."

Davis let out a howl of laughter and only shut up when Roy hit him over the head. Even then he couldn't keep a smile off his face.

"Science!? You gotta be kidding! My idea of _fascinating_ is mechanics." Rex said. Edvard shrugged again and stared down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Hey, don't let Davis get to you," Roy said to him. "He's just a big pushover, really."

"Oh yeah, like Sephiroth." Davis blabbed out, losing himself in another bout of laughter which no one else seemed to understand.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day at breakfast, Roy, Davis, Rex and Cloud sat at a table with Edvard as their newest friend. He was silent most of the time and would only talk when Cloud tried to strike up conversation with him and when a really interesting topic came up. It created more of a balance in their group, seeing as the only quiet one really had been Cloud before and now there were two. And as Roy sometimes changed from being talkative to reserved (which the other four all found incredibly fascinating) he added the final touch to the balance.

"Why can't they at least give us food that tastes good?" Rex complained loudly as he moved his food around on his plate. "How are we going to perform at our best if we're eating stuff like this?"

"Suck it up and be a man." Davis said, taking a mouthful of the food. Edvard stood up and Cloud glanced at him and then down to the spotless plate he held.

"Where are you going? Did I frighten you off already?" Rex asked.

"More food." Edvard said, keeping his head down and walking over to do just as he had said.

"He's crazy, he is." Davis muttered.

"What's he doing here anyway if he's into science?" Roy asked, pushing some of his hair away from his eyes.

"He's a right little geek isn't he?" Davis agreed. "His glasses aren't flattering either."

"Don't say that about him." Cloud said defensively.

"Still remembering when we picked on you?" Davis asked with a chuckle. "At least we still don't do it, right?"

"You shouldn't pick on anyone." Cloud murmured.

"Well, when I get a girlfriend you won't have to worry about _me_ any more. I'll be too busy working out when I can escape this place and take her to the movies to worry about teasing." Rex said with a happy sigh.

"You'd better get a girlfriend fast. I want to see your failed attempts at leaving this place." Davis grinned.

"Well Roy managed it, didn't he? So I'll be able to do it as well!" Rex argued, folding his arms stubbornly.

"Yeah, but she wasn't my girlfriend." Roy pointed out.

"How were they supposed to know?" Rex asked.

"Just make sure that when you get a girlfriend, she doesn't ring up and ask to see her boyfriend." Roy explained.

"Smart." Davis commented.

"So Gemma _is_ your girlfriend! You're just hiding the fact so that you can continue seeing her!" Rex accused, his eyes going wide at the sudden knowledge he felt he had uncovered. Roy choked on the mouthful he had just begun to swallow and felt tears spring to his eyes from the sudden pressure.

"Is it true, then?" Davis asked eagerly.

Finally managing to clear his throat, Roy said, "No!" and shook his head. "She's just my friend! I promise!"

"Yeah, right. Whatever you say." Rex said with a roll of his eyes. Just then Edvard arrived back and sat down, his plate piled high with more food.

"You've got a pretty big appetite." Davis remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"It happens when I overexert myself." Edvard said quietly. Davis laughed and looked at Roy, wanting someone to join in his amusement. The only response from Roy that he received was an unimpressed stare.

"Okay, okay." Davis said with a sigh, turning back to Edvard. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." Edvard said with a shrug, keeping his eyes on his food.

"Hey, is that Genesis Rhapsodos?"

Roy jerked as Rex nudged him sharply in the side and then looked around for who Rex was talking about. There was a man with auburn hair and a long red cloak standing near the doorway, his eyes scanning the room as he obviously searched for someone. Edvard sat up in interest, his eyes wide in excitement.

"It is!" Davis said excitedly, having also spotted him. "I wonder who he's looking for."

"Maybe..." Edvard trailed off, his eyes glued to the SOLDIER who had just begun walking forwards toward their table.

"Eddie?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow and wondering what the small boy was so excited about.

"Excuse me, are you Edvard?" Genesis asked, stopping in front of him.

"Yes!" Edvard squeaked out.

"Professor Hojo would like to see you." Genesis explained, now looking quite bored.

"Yes!" Edvard repeated, shoving his chair back and jumping up. "Thank you so much, Sir!"

"That's alright. Now if you'll just follow me." Genesis turned and began walking towards the door again, Edvard almost running to keep up with him. His face was lit up in such a way that the others were sure they had just witnessed one of his life dreams occurring.

"_Now_ I'm intrigued." Rex stated with a pout.

"Isn't Professor Hojo that guy who gives the SOLDIERs all their mako?" Davis asked, frowning in confusion.

"Maybe Eddie's a druggo!" Rex laughed.

"Do you guys ever take anything seriously?" Roy asked with a sigh, although there was a slight smile on his face as he spoke.

"Of course we do!" Davis grinned. "But how often do you see a lowly infantryman get taken off to see Hojo?"

"I wouldn't know; I've only just joined." Roy pointed out with a small smirk.

"Oh, touché!" Rex laughed at Davis and high-fived Roy.

* * *

[2 weeks later]

Roy was sitting on his bed reading over the theory work they'd been given on guns after a long day of running and was also half listening to what Rex and Davis were saying as they argued over something of little significance. Cloud had been silent for a while and as Roy glanced up momentarily, he confirmed that the other boy was also reading over the theory.

Under his bed and tightly sealed in a box was a long black wig which Gemma had sent to him one week ago. He had yet to wear it but was simply waiting for the most opportune moment. He was hoping that tomorrow night would prove to be the chance he was waiting for.

Just as Roy turned a page and was beginning to read about how to take apart a gun and put it back together, loud voices were heard entering the corridor just outside their room.

"Yeah, tomorrow night's the best time. Sephiroth and some other Firsts are being sent out on a mission."

"How'd you find out?"

"I have my sources."

"So are we gonna go to a bar?"

"Keep your voice down! But yes. And I figured we should take some of these newbies with us for an adventure."

"Well, here's a door."

Roy hurriedly stood up from the bed and shut his book, looking over at Davis and Rex to make sure they had heard as well. Unfortunately, the three of them didn't seem to be on the same wave length.

"Sweet! Do you reckon they'd let us come with them?" Davis hissed quietly.

There was a loud knock on the door and then it opened, revealing three third class SOLDIERs. Roy's eyes widened and he felt a lump form in his throat. It had been nerve wracking getting into SOLDIER, but he'd soon gotten comfortable with the others in his classes and his instructors weren't too bad. Now that there were more new faces he was nervous again. Rex and Davis weren't helping.

"Hey!" Rex said enthusiastically.

"You guys doing anything tomorrow night?" The larger of the three boys asked, folding his arms.

"Well we've-"

"Nope!" Davis cut Cloud off happily.

"Great. Meet you at the bar at seven o'clock."

The three boys left the room and Roy turned on Rex and Davis angrily. He had his hands on his hips and was almost literally smoking at the ears.

"So you get to decide for me now, do you?" Roy snapped.

"Oh relax! Think of the girls we'll meet there!" Davis laughed, trying to soften his friends mood.

"Um, do I have to go?" Cloud asked quietly.

"Of course! We could get you a girlfriend, Spike!" Rex grinned. The blond boy went bright red and ducked his face in embarrassment.

"It's not funny. Cloud and I aren't going, alright?" Roy said firmly. He was thoroughly annoyed that two of his room-mates had even _thought_ of destroying his possibility to wear his wig on the night he'd been planning.

"It'll be great! Why don't you want to come? This isn't like you, Roy." Davis said thoughtfully.

"You don't know me well enough to say what is and isn't me!" Roy growled.

"Oh, chill out. Stay here if you want, but don't get jealous when we all get girlfriends and you don't." Davis shrugged.

"Fine."

Cloud glanced from Roy to Davis and back again before looking over at where Rex was watching them with his eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Um," Cloud cleared his throat. "I might come."

"I knew you would!" Davis exclaimed happily, moving away from Roy to ruffle Cloud's blond hair.

Roy folded his arms and sat down on his bed, still glaring at Davis even though he wasn't looking any more. He wasn't sure why he'd gotten so annoyed, but he did know that no matter what he was going to wear his black wig tomorrow night.

Suddenly, as Roy watched Davis flop onto his bed, a light bulb turned on inside his head. His mouth fell open slightly and his eyes widened. Why hadn't he thought of it before?

"So which bar are you going to?" Roy asked, turning away and trying to make it sound as if he wasn't really interested.

"The closest, probably. It's near the cinema." Davis said. "If you change your mind, feel free to join us."

"Dream on." Roy replied quickly, ducking his head to hide his smirk. He had a plan. He knew it was dangerous, but he wanted to try it anyway. Besides, being a SOLDIER would involve greater risks than this.

Grabbing his theory work once again, he tried to focus on the words and stop from laughing aloud. Tomorrow night was going to be _so_ much fun.

* * *

[1 day later]

"He wants to kill me, it's the truth!" Davis whined as they entered their room after another lesson with guns. "I bet it's because I know so much about it; he's probably jealous."

"Yeah, because an instructor is going to be jealous of an _infantryman_. Sure." Rex rolled his eyes with a snicker and Davis shoved him in the shoulder.

"Do you guys have the time?" Cloud asked curiously.

"It's six thirty." Rex said, dumping his bag on his bed.

"Half an hour until we meet some hot chicks!" Davis exclaimed happily. "I can't wait. I feel sorry for you, Roy."

"By all means, have fun." Roy encouraged him.

"You know what's sad?" Rex said thoughtfully as he sat down and rested his head on one hand.

"What?" Davis asked.

"Edvard's missing out too."

"Oh hey, I forgot about him!" Davis laughed.

"I hope Hojo didn't murder him or something." Rex frowned.

"It's not impossible. Who knows what Hojo does down in his lab?" Davis shrugged. "But don't worry, as long as we never go down there we should be fine. And once we're SOLDIERs, we could probably take him on if he tried to hurt us."

"Too right!" Rex agreed.

"I hope he's alright." Cloud said quietly.

Roy moved over to Davis and stared him straight in the eyes. "Listen to me carefully. If you don't look after Cloud, I will never forgive you. Understood?"

"Perfectly." Davis said seriously.

"Good. Have a good time, then." Roy relaxed somewhat and went over to his bed, rummaging through his bag for something.

"Don't worry Roy, we'll make sure no one mistakes him for a girl." Rex said.

"_Hey_!"

"Relax!" Rex doubled over in laughter, clutching his sides. Davis chuckled and looked over to see Cloud absolutely fuming.

"It's okay, no one will." Davis assured him.

"Oh my gosh! Davis!" Rex gasped out, looking up at him. "I just had a hilarious thought!"

"If it involves me you can keep it to yourself!" Cloud snapped. Rex stopped laughing and frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Cloud to get so offended by his comment.

"Okay. I'm sorry." he said, looking down. Cloud sighed and sat down on his bed, avoiding looking at anyone.

"You should leave now. Otherwise you're going to be late." Roy pointed out.

"Alright. We'll see you tomorrow if not late tonight." Davis said, standing up. Roy nodded and tried to make it look like he was really busy looking for something in his bag.

"See you." Rex said, walking towards the door beside Davis. Cloud stood up and slowly followed them, not even looking back at Roy as they all exited and shut the door behind them.

As soon as they were gone, Roy stopped his pointless rummaging and grabbed the main objects he knew he would need. He lay them out on his bed and then waited until all footsteps had disappeared before rushing out to the bathrooms.

Splashing water over his face, he wiped it clean of all the make-up he had been wearing. Once he was back in his room, he started applying different make-up to what he had used before and after being satisfied, he began prying open the box which contained his wig.

"Here we go..." Roy mumbled as he took the wig out and started pulling it over his head. He carefully checked his appearance in his hand-held mirror and almost burst out laughing at what he saw. Rearranging the wig only slightly, he then went over to one of his drawers and dug down deep before finding what he'd been looking for.

Checking the time on his watch, he hurriedly got changed into his skinny jeans and a long black top.

Pulling on a pair of high heels, Kayli packed all her stuff away again and quietly slipped out of her room and into the corridor. She listened intently for other sounds of people who could be anywhere near and began the slow journey of making her way outside without being seen.

A few times she had to duck into other rooms to avoid being found, but other than that the hallways were rather empty and it made her thankful that some of the SOLDIERs had gone on a mission.

Once she got outside, she walked down the nearest street towards the shops and could soon see the cinema up ahead. In just five minutes, she suddenly froze and slowly turned her head to look at the shop window she was standing next to.

"Something's missing..." she said thoughtfully, observing her reflection in the glass. She tilted her head slightly and then let her eyes wander past her reflection to the things inside the shop and she gasped. "Of course!"

Quickly turning around, she dashed inside the shop in order to buy a long necklace which would complete her outfit.

Leaving the shop with her new necklace on, she smiled and continued on her way toward the cinema, which she was using as a reference point to then find the bar. It only took another five minutes and then she was there.

Taking a deep breath and trying to calm her nerves which had suddenly appeared again, she turned on the spot outside the cinema and looked for the bar. There were quite a few people hanging around here and she wondered if she would look out of place at all. She'd never been to this part of Midgar before.

A group of boys caught her attention and she watched as they walked towards a building with a broken sign above the door. Inconspicuously sidling closer to them, she peeked inside the building as the boy at the front opened the door.

Confident that she had now found the bar where the others were, Kayli waited for the group to disappear inside before following after them and walking in as well. She was slightly shocked to see that no one stopped her to check ID, but then quickly scanned the room for anyone she knew.

Davis, Rex and Cloud were sitting at a table with two other boys she didn't know. Smiling to herself, she walked over to the bar bench and sat on a stool, frequently glancing over at Davis' table in an attempt to get their attention subtly.

"Hey, Davis! Five o'clock!"

Kayli felt her nerves increase as Rex hurriedly tried to calmly inform his friend that someone kept looking at him. What if Davis looked over and immediately knew who she was?

Alas, there was no time to turn back now.


	7. Chapter 7

Kayli subconsciously gripped the edge of the bench tightly as she watched a figure walk towards her out of the corner of her eye. When they reached her side, she allowed herself to look over and see who it was.

"Hey," Rex said with a grin. "I'm Rex."

"Kayli." she replied smoothly, hoping she wouldn't randomly burst out laughing at him any time soon.

"Nice name," he commented. "It really suits you."

"Thanks. Rex suits you too." Kayli smirked. Rex raised an eyebrow slightly but brushed it aside.

"Want to join my friends and me?" Rex asked innocently.

"Sure." Kayli nodded, standing up from the stool and letting go of the bench from her vice-like grip. She followed Rex over to his table and sat down in the chair he offered, which was coincidentally next to Davis as well.

"Guys, this is Kayli. Kayli, this is Davis, Cloud, Camon and Nareau." Rex introduced them all to each other.

"Hi." Kayli said politely, avoiding Davis' eyes. There were other murmured 'hello's from the others at the table and then Rex leant forward slightly, tilting his head to still look at her.

"Davis thinks you're hot." he said bluntly.

"Rex!" Davis hissed, his face going red with either embarrassment or anger. Kayli looked down, her own face going red as well.

"As if she couldn't tell!" Camon laughed. He was holding a mug of beer and took a large swig, rocking backwards dangerously on his chair. Nareau stared at Kayli silently for a moment before letting out a large sigh and laying his head on the table.

"Don't mind him," Rex said in a quieter voice to Kayli and gesturing at Nareau. "He's got a splitting headache already."

"Was he here this morning as well?" Kayli asked sarcastically. Rex chuckled.

"Hey, why do you look so young?" Camon asked loudly, squinting at Kayli in his obvious drunken state.

"She can't be younger than Spike." Davis replied for her. Cloud glanced up at her from where he'd been staring at the table and frowned slightly before looking down again.

"Yeah, gosh you must be fourteen." Rex commented, now also frowning.

"Are you infantrymen?" Kayli asked quickly, hoping the topic of conversation would turn the way she wanted and she wouldn't have to answer awkward questions.

"Well, these two are third class SOLDIERs," Rex gestured at Camon and Nareau. "And yeah, we're infantrymen."

"You must be _really_ strong." Kayli sighed, resting her head in the palm of her hand and staring at Rex dreamily. For the first time she noticed that he had dirty blond hair, and that it was short around the sides and came down longer at the front. It was an unusual haircut, but it looked great on him.

"That I am." Rex replied with a smirk. His brown eyes sparkled mischievously and Kayli found herself utterly confused as to why she hadn't noticed how good looking he was before now.

Turning her head, she looked around the table to observe the others and see what they looked like. She took in Davis' messy, mahogany-brown hair and dark blue eyes; Cloud's spiky blond hair and light blue eyes; Camon's ash-brown hair and grey eyes; and finally Nareau's confusing mop of almost white hair which was all she could see as he had his head down.

"You're all really handsome." Kayli said with a smile, her gaze lingering on Davis for a moment as she watched his cheeks go red. She'd never seen anything like that ever happen to him before and was quite amused.

"Would you like a drink?" Rex asked.

"Oh, no thanks." Kayli said. She didn't like the idea of possibly getting drunk while in the same room as her friends from ShinRa. Especially while she was looking like a girl.

"You sure? I'll shout you." Rex persisted teasingly.

"I'm fine." Kayli assured him.

"Well, if you're positive." Rex shrugged. "But I would've loved to be the one to buy the prettiest girl here a drink." Kayli blushed slightly and looked away from him. Unfortunately, she then found herself looking at Davis and at the same time they both went bright red, turning away.

"Someone's got the hots for each other!" Camon roared, slamming his drink on the table and promptly sliding off his chair onto the floor. Girlish giggling reached their ears and Rex groaned, face-palming.

"We haven't even been here long and he's already done that three times now." Rex explained to Kayli. Nareau lifted his head off the table, reached down to where Camon was on the floor, picked him up and shoved him back onto his chair. Kayli hurriedly looked for the colour of Nareau's eyes before he dumped his head back down again.

Gold. An interesting colour.

Wait a minute- gold?

"He's got gold eyes." Kayli murmured to herself. Rex turned his head to her and smirked, having heard what she said.

"They're contacts." he said.

"Oh, of course." Kayli nodded. She felt her cheeks go slightly red again and felt silly for having thought that they were his natural colour.

"Camon's wearing contacts too." Rex added.

"Why?" Kayli asked curiously. It seemed a bit odd to her that two friends would both choose to wear contacts of different colours.

"They want to hide their eye colour, of course." Rex said with a chuckle. Kayli turned her gaze on him, frowning. "Uh, because they're SOLDIERs and the mako gives them bright blue eyes they hide it so that not everyone they meet knows that they're SOLDIERs." Rex hurriedly explained after seeing her expression.

"Oh, right." Kayli nodded.

Davis shifted in his seat. "So what brought you here?"

"Just wanted to get out and meet new people." Kayli shrugged. The real reason itched to be spoken aloud and she imagined their faces if she actually did just allow her mouth to say it.

"Are we a good sampling of new people?" Rex asked coyly, slowly putting an arm around her shoulders. Davis tensed, staring at Rex.

"Um, you're okay." Kayli said, reaching up and moving Rex's arm from her shoulders. He appeared momentarily downcast before looking past her to Davis and smirking.

"Whoa! Sek-sual ten-shion." Camon slurred.

"Keep your nose out of our business, alright?" Davis growled. Camon let out a giggle-snort and Davis rolled his eyes, turning away.

"Oh no."

Davis, Kayli and Cloud all looked over to Rex and then in the direction he was looking. Over near the door to the bar stood General Sephiroth, wearing his SOLDIER uniform and staring at their table.

"Crap." Davis whispered.

"We-" Kayli paused and hoped desperately no one would notice. "You guys weren't meant to be out here were you?"

"Not really." Davis replied.

"Quick! What's your number?" Rex said, shoving a pen and a scrap piece of paper at Kayli.

"Uh..." she took the pen and let it hover above the paper for a moment before scribbling down a number. Handing it to Rex, she hoped that his look of ecstasy did not mean that he liked her.

"Hello boys," Sephiroth said. Everyone at their table jumped as they realised he was standing right beside them. "Oh, and girl." Sephiroth added as he noticed Kayli.

Davis gulped. "Hello Sir."

"What are we doing out here, may I ask?"

"You were s'posed to be on a mission!" Camon whined, glaring at his beer. One of Sephiroth's eyebrows arched in amusement.

"Do I have to escort you back to ShinRa?" he asked sternly.

"No, Sir." Rex said sadly. "We'll go back now."

"Good." Sephiroth said, stepping back to allow them all to stand up. He looked around at everyone and frowned, his gaze returning to Kayli. "Where's Peters? Didn't he come?"

"Nah, guess you could say he's the smart one." Rex sighed. Sephiroth continued staring at Kayli and one corner of his mouth twitched almost into a smile before he straightened it out again.

"Get out of here or I'll report this." he said.

Davis, Cloud and Rex clumped together and hurried towards the door. Nareau grabbed Camon and hurriedly steered him out as well. Kayli tried to casually leave as well, but froze as she felt a hand on her arm. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears as it sped up and had a feeling that Sephiroth would be able to hear it as well, due to his enhanced hearing.

"Nice necklace."

"Thank you."

"Did you consume any alcohol?"

"No, Sir."

"We'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Dismissed."

Kayli slipped away from the General's grip and left the building, following behind the others at a distance so that they wouldn't think she was. Her heart was still racing and she felt as though she had just come within a hairs breadth of death.

She was now absolutely, one hundred percent positive that Sephiroth knew she was a female. What she didn't understand, however, was why he hadn't mentioned anything at all to do with her leaving ShinRa.

As Kayli's mind whirred with thoughts, she didn't notice Davis falling back to walk beside her.

"Why did you leave as well?"

Kayli jumped, looking up and seeing Davis. Her face went scarlet and she was thankful that it was night so it would be hard to see the colouration.

"Oh, I was thinking of going soon anyway." she lied with a shrug.

"So where are you headed now?" he asked casually.

"Why?" Kayli asked accusingly, narrowing her eyes at him slightly.

"No reason, I was just trying to keep conversation going." Davis fumbled slightly. Kayli allowed a small smile to appear on her face as she watched him stare down in embarrassment.

"Can you tell Rex something for me?" she asked.

"Uh, sure." Davis said, looking crestfallen.

"Later on, tell him that I gave him my friend's phone number and not my own." she said. Davis' eyes widened and he snorted in laughter before hurriedly covering it up.

"Why did you do that?" he gasped.

"Well, to put it bluntly it's because I didn't want him to call me." she explained. "And please don't ask me to give _you_ my number."

"I wasn't going to." Davis mumbled. Kayli smirked and turned her face away to hide it. She thought how Davis was acting around her was absolutely adorable.

"You should catch up to your friends." she said.

"Yeah." Davis agreed quietly, but without making any moves to speed up.

"I'll see you around, okay?" Kayli said, giving him a small push forwards. He gave her a half smile and nodded.

"I'll hold you to that," Davis said. "You know where to find me."

"Yeah, I do." Kayli nodded. Davis sighed and then lengthened his strides so as to catch up with Rex and Cloud. Kayli hung back and had a look in the windows of shops along the way, trying to allow the distance between them to grow larger quickly.

Once she couldn't see them any more, she quickened her steps and glanced over her shoulder in paranoia, wondering where Sephiroth was and whether he was watching her from somewhere.

It wasn't too long before she reached ShinRa again and walked through the doors. Keeping her head down, she managed to get through the reception area without being questioned and then all she had to do was exactly what she had done when on her way out.

That was when she realised she had no idea how to get into her room without being seen, and that was where she had left her clothes.

Groaning, she stopped to lean against a wall and think about her situation. It was after dinner so everyone would be staying in their rooms from now on, so the idea of sneaking in while they were out was scrapped.

"Oh my gosh they're going to walk in and I won't be there!" Kayli whispered in horror. What if they realised when Roy wasn't there that she _was_ Roy?

"Come on! No one will know!"

Kayli's eyes widened as she heard Rex's voice. Wishing she could disappear through the wall, she stayed perfectly still and waited.

"Please don't make me come!" Kayli heard Cloud whine.

"Don't you _want_ to find Roy? What if he's gotten himself trapped in an elevator or something?" Davis questioned firmly.

"Oh, fine." Cloud sighed.

"Where should we start looking?" Rex asked.

"Maybe he's still in the cafeteria." Davis suggested. Kayli closed her eyes and mouthed 'yes' over and over.

Moments later, Rex and the others faded from earshot as they walked down a different corridor in the direction of the cafeteria. Kayli wasted no time in sprinting towards where she knew her room was and slamming the door behind her as she entered.

In record time, she got changed into her uniform and removed her make-up, applying her 'Roy' make-up afterwards. Her heart was pounding as she hid the clothes she had been wearing deep in one of her drawers and packed all her cosmetics away.

Finally sitting down on her bed, she tried to slow her breathing.

"Oh, man." Roy hissed under his breath as he pulled off the wig he'd been wearing. He stood up and reached under his bed for the box it had been in and put it in before shoving it back under and sitting down once more.

Fifteen minutes later, Roy was lying down on his bed with his eyes closed as Rex, Davis and Cloud entered the room.

"There you are!" Rex exclaimed. "We were just looking for you!"

"You're back early." Roy commented as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Rex had a slap-happy expression on his face and Roy raised an eyebrow at it.

"Well, Sephiroth caught us so we had to leave." Davis said with a shrug.

"But before that we met this awesome chick!" Rex said. "She had black hair like yours and her eyes were your colour too!" Roy mentally scolded himself for forgetting about his eyes.

"She didn't like you." Davis said.

"Excuse me? She spoke to me the most!" Rex retorted.

"Hey, you know when you asked for her number?" Davis asked.

"Yeah! She gave it to me!" Rex nodded enthusiastically.

"She gave you her friend's number! Try calling it." Davis told him. Roy turned away to stifle a laugh while Rex stared at Davis with his mouth wide open.

"I wondered why she hesitated first." Cloud said quietly.

"Dude, you hardly said a word!" Davis laughed, speaking to Cloud. "In fact, I pretty much forgot you were there."

"Let me guess, you were so amazed by the girl's beauty that you forgot about everything else in the world?" Roy asked with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Davis growled, but with a laugh in his voice too.

"He was almost drooling!" Rex said to Roy. "If we stayed any longer he probably would have tried to kiss her or something."

Roy felt his face flaming up and hurriedly looked away, but not before he had seen Davis' face going red also.

"I've never seen you so at a loss for words." Rex said to Davis, not noticing Roy's discomfort.

"Leave me alone." Davis grunted.

"No way! This is awesome! I've finally got blackmail to use on you!" Rex laughed and went over to his bed, sitting down.

"How long have you two known each other?" Cloud asked curiously.

"Oh, we come from the same town," Rex explained. "So we've pretty much known each other all our lives. And that's why it was so weird seeing you speechless!" Rex directed his last sentence at Davis, who simply turned away and ignored him.

"What was her name?" Roy asked Rex.

"Kayli. Isn't that pretty?" Rex grinned.

"You sound like you like her too." Roy probed, rather enjoying himself. Rex's grin fell from his face and he fixed Roy with a betrayed expression before laughing.

"I guess so. She was just so pretty and so nice." he shrugged innocently.

"She liked me more." Davis muttered. Roy snorted slightly and then quickly covered his face, trying to hide his amusement.

"I hope I see her again." Rex said thoughtfully.

"I know _I_ will." Davis boasted, finally turning back around to look at him. "She promised me I would."

"What? How come I didn't hear?" Rex asked, shocked.

"It was on our way back. She left at the same time as us." Davis said.

"Hey Rex, what happened to you liking Gemma?" Roy questioned, interrupting them to satisfy his own curiosity. Rex looked over at him and grinned.

"Still do."

"What about Kayli?"

"Like her too. Might even ask her out if I see her again." Rex puffed his chest out.

"You look like a penguin doing that." Roy said monotonously. Rex burst out laughing, his chest deflating as he did so.

"What would we do without you?" he asked between laughs.

"Probably die of boredom." Davis answered for Roy. "But guys, nothing about me liking Kayli leaves this room okay?"

"Yeah sure, I'll just invite everyone I want to tell into our room before I tell them." Rex laughed, dropping his head into his hands as he laughed uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it stays in." Roy said to Davis.

"Thanks." Davis said quietly.

"Hey guys, we've got swimming again tomorrow." Cloud said. He was sitting cross-legged on his bed and was reading over his schedule.

"No way!" Roy exclaimed, scrambling up from his sitting position on his bed and moving over to look at Cloud's schedule. "I'm going to die!"

"How bad could it be?" Davis asked.

"Bad enough. It's the first one I'll have with the whole class." Roy replied, frowning.

"It's a bit weird how we've had no swimming lessons since then isn't it?" Davis commented.

"Not that I care." Roy muttered.

"Yeah, me neither. I was just saying." Davis shrugged. "But come on, we should get our sleep so that hopefully we don't wake up with migraines."

"You actually drank alcohol? I didn't see-" Roy clamped his mouth shut and hope his slip-up wasn't noticed.

"Had some, but not much. It shouldn't give me a headache but I'm going to go to bed now just in case." Davis began grabbing his things for bed and Roy relaxed slightly.

"I think I will too." he said.


	8. Chapter 8

Roy awoke to being whacked in the face with a pillow and let out a muffled groan. Bringing his hands up, he pushed the pillow off and looked up through bleary eyes at where Davis stood above him, a devilish smirk on his face and a cup of water in his hand.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" Davis exclaimed, tilting his hand. Roy's eyes widened before squeezing shut tight in a split second. He let out a yell as cold water splashed onto his face from the cup Davis had been holding.

"Davis, you're going down!" Roy roared, pushing off his covers and jumping up. Davis back stepped quickly,chuckling.

"Bet you couldn't take me on!" Davis taunted.

"Bet I could!" Roy grinned and was about to begin his attack when the door opened and they both looked to see Zack standing there.

"He started it!" Davis said instantly, pointing at Roy.

"Huh?" Zack asked, scratching his head. "Um, the General wants to see Roy Peters." Roy's heart sank and he looked over at Davis with a worried expression.

"Ha! Serves you right." Davis laughed. "Fight's postponed 'til lunch, okay?"

"Sure. If I live that long." Roy replied, moving to grab his uniform together and then heading toward the door.

"Don't be long. Seph's not feeling too good this morning." Zack whispered. Roy nodded in acknowledgement of the advice and slipped past him, walking towards the bathrooms in order to get changed.

Once he was finished, he made his way slowly up to the SOLDIER floor via the elevator. Stepping out into the corridor, he waited for the doors behind him to slide shut before beginning to walk in the direction he remembered the General's office was.

It wasn't long before he was stopped by another SOLDIER who wanted to know just what he thought he was doing there when he should have been down eating breakfast with the other infantrymen.

"General Sephiroth asked to see me." Roy said softly.

"Yeah? I'll believe that when I see it. Come with me and I'll take you to him. Then we'll see if you're lying or not." the SOLDIER said smugly, gripping Roy's shoulder and steering him in the direction he had already been going. Roy didn't reply, knowing that the SOLDIER probably wouldn't care what he had to say anyway.

When they reached Sephiroth's office, the SOLDIER knocked and then entered, shoving Roy forward fiercely, as if bringing a prisoner for sentencing.

"Found this grunt wandering around on this floor. He said you asked to see him. Is that correct, Sir?" he asked. Sephiroth looked up, his hand poised above a report that was sitting on his desk and a pen gripped between his fingers.

"I thought he'd never show up. Thank you, I'll take it from here." Sephiroth returned his gaze to his report, continuing to write something as the other SOLDIER snapped to attention and saluted before walking out.

* * *

Davis sat down next to Rex in the cafeteria, sighing as he did so. He had a lazily-happy expression on his face as he thought about how he'd gotten Roy with water earlier.

"Roy seems to be sent to the General a lot, doesn't he?" Rex asked as he picked some food off his plate.

"He's probably gonna get congratulated on deciding not to go out to the bar with his friends. Stupid runt had to be wise, didn't he?" Davis grumbled, but he had a smile on his face. "Still, we got to meet Kayli."

"Oh yeah! Meeting Kayli was the best thing that ever happened to me!" Rex exclaimed.

"I thought we agreed she was mine?" Davis challenged. Just then, Cloud sat down at their table with his own tray of food.

"Spiky, who do you reckon deserves Kayli more? Me or him?" Rex asked, leaning over to speak to him. Cloud looked up, his eyes wide as he took in what he was being asked.

"Um," Cloud began.

"See?" Rex said, turning to Davis. "Even _he_ agrees with me."

"He said 'um'." Davis said bluntly.

Rex stared at Davis for a few more seconds before turning back to Cloud and waiting, drumming his fingers on the table impatiently. Cloud swallowed and tried desperately to think of what he could say without offending either of them.

"I think," Cloud said slowly. "That Kayli probably already has a boyfriend."

"Answer the question!" Rex growled.

"You really get fired up about girls don't you?" Davis asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I thought I was the more obnoxious out of us two, but now? You take the cake."

Rex threw him an unimpressed glare.

"Hey look! It's Edvard!" Cloud said, eager to change the topic of conversation.

As Rex and Davis looked to where Cloud was pointing, they saw that he was telling the truth. Edvard had walked into the cafeteria and looked around cautiously, as if afraid someone was going to jump out and scare him.

"Same old Edvard," Rex sighed.

"I wanna know what he's been doing these past two weeks." Davis said, standing up. Rex nodded in agreement, joining Davis as he headed over to the small boy who was still only just past the doorway.

"Hey, Edvard!" Davis called out. Edvard snapped his head up to look at who was talking to him and gulped, shuffling his feet nervously.

"Er, hi." Edvard mumbled.

"Done anything interesting lately?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. They both knew what he was referring to.

"Well, actually," Edvard cleared his throat and put his hands behind his back to try and look more sophisticated. "Professor Hojo allowed me to train underneath him for a bit. He said that he'd get back to me in a couple of days with whether I'm good enough to become his permanent apprentice."

"Whoa! No kidding?" Rex asked, eyes wide. Edvard grinned slightly, feeling a bit bolder now.

"So you don't wanna be a SOLDIER or anything?" Davis asked, folding his arms.

"No," Edvard shook his head. "But I didn't know of any other way to get to ShinRa and ask Professor Hojo if I could work with him than to become an Infantryman."

"That's understandable." Rex nodded.

"No it's not. Why didn't you just go to reception and ask if you could train to be a scientist?" Davis asked, narrowing his eyebrows. Edvard shifted nervously, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, leave him alone." Rex laughed and then gestured at Edvard to follow him. "Come on, I bet you're hungry."

Once Edvard had gotten some food they sat down again and filled Cloud in on what he'd been doing.

"Did Hojo tell you any of his secrets?" Davis asked excitedly.

"No, he even sent me outside sometimes when he was doing something really important." Edvard explained. "I was only allowed to see and do the most simple of things."

"That must've sucked. Did you see anything interesting by accident? Witness anything peculiar that has no explanation?" Rex asked, forgetting all about his food as he gave Edvard his full attention.

"Um," Edvard paused and furrowed his eyebrows as he thought about all he'd seen the past two weeks. "General Sephiroth came to see Professor Hojo a lot, about once a day. But other than that there wasn't really anything..."

"Sephiroth? What was he doing seeing Hojo every day?" Davis asked.

"I don't know." Edvard shrugged.

"See any illegal substances or anything?" Rex asked, a grin on his face.

"No," Edvard said with a small shake of his head. "If he had any then they were hidden away securely."

"Dude, next time you go down there you have to have a snoop around and tell us what you find, alright?" Rex said slyly, grinning cheekily.

"I'd get in trouble, though! And then Professor Hojo would never trust me again." Edvard complained.

"Don't make him do it if he doesn't want to." Cloud defended him. Edvard gave him a small smile of thanks.

"Oh, I was just looking for some adventure." Rex whined. "Hey, when's Roy getting back? It's weird without him around."

"No idea. Maybe the General's having a full party for his good choice of not going with us last night." Davis sighed, obviously still put-out.

"Oh absolutely." Rex rolled his eyes. "Can you honestly picture that? Sephiroth giving Roy a party just because he didn't go to a bar with his friends?" Davis chuckled and shook his head, realising that what he had said sounded really stupid.

"I wonder what's taking so long, then." he said.

"Maybe Sephiroth's giving him another lecture about swimming or something." Rex shrugged. "I guess there's no point in waiting around for him or anything."

"Yeah," Davis agreed. "Crap, I need to check what I've got first today."

"Me too." Rex said, and promptly dumped the remaining food that was on his tray onto Davis'. "I'm done!" Standing with a cheeky grin, he ran off to dispose of his tray and then waited by the door.

"See you guys later, then." Davis said with a roll of his eyes, a small smile on his face. He too stood and went to get rid of all the food he now had on his tray before also getting rid of the tray and then joining Rex. They went straight to their dorm to grab their schedules.

"They could've asked me." Cloud muttered as he continued eating. Edvard looked up at him, slightly confused.

"Why could they have asked you?" he asked.

"Because last night I checked everything we had." Cloud sighed. "But it's okay." He smiled and shook his head slightly in amusement that Rex and Davis hadn't even thought to ask him.

* * *

Roy stood perfectly still and watched Sephiroth's expression as the man ignored him and went on with his writing. It was incredibly unnerving.

Finally, Sephiroth placed his pen down on his desk and laced his fingers together. He stared straight at Roy, his eyes betraying no emotion that he may have been feeling. The situation reminded Roy of when he had been sent to the General after their first training session out on the field.

"Excuse me Sir, may I ask a question?" Roy asked, envisioning himself standing on the edge of a cliff as he did so. The General's eyes narrowed and he stood up. Roy gulped.

"I will be asking the questions." Sephiroth said firmly.

"Yes, Sir." Roy said, his voice quivering slightly.

"Do your parents know where you are?" Sephiroth asked firmly. Roy's heartbeat increased as he realised this would probably be the day he would be sent home.

"No, Sir." he replied.

"I thought not." Sephiroth turned and faced the window at the back of the small room, appearing to be thinking about something. He then turned and faced Roy once more. "Where were you last night?"

"Sir?" Roy asked, eyes wide in fear.

"Answer the question." Sephiroth ordered firmly. Roy gulped and nodded.

"I was... at a bar." he said quietly.

"Are you aware that it is against regulation to consume any amount of alcohol during your training?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes, Sir." Roy replied.

"Did you or did you not consume alcohol last night?"

"I didn't, Sir." Roy said honestly. Sephiroth frowned slightly and stared at him as if trying to decide whether he believed him or not.

"Is that your final answer?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, Sir."

"Were you at the bar with some others in your squad, Davis, Strife and Rance?" Sephiroth asked, folding his arms and tilting his head.

"I was with Davis and Strife, but I don't know who you mean by Rance, Sir." Roy said, wondering to himself who it could be. He didn't remember anyone in his squad by the name of Rance.

"Rex Rance. Were you with him last night as well?" Sephiroth asked.

"Oh, yes, Sir." Roy nodded. So Rance was Rex's last name... did that mean Davis was a last name as well? What was his first name then?

"Did any of the others in your squad whom you were with consume any alcohol?" Sephiroth asked.

"Not that I know of, Sir." Roy said with a small shake of his head.

"But they may have?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. Roy paused and thought hard about what he remembered of the previous night.

"I'm pretty certain they didn't, Sir." he said finally. "From what I saw they were only talking."

"I'll take your word for it. If their performance is not up to standard today then we may have to have another talk later on." Sephiroth said.

"Yes, Sir." Roy replied, hoping that Davis had gotten enough sleep and wouldn't be training with a migraine.

"I have one final question for you, Peters." Sephiroth said, clasping his hands together and sitting on the edge of his desk. "What is your reason for being here at ShinRa?"

"I want to be a SOLDIER, Sir." Roy said instantly.

"For what purpose?" Sephiroth challenged. Roy paused, wondering whether Sephiroth would know if he lied and feeling about 99.9% sure that he would. With a sigh, he knew he would simply have to tell the truth. Besides, he was sure Sephiroth knew he was a girl already anyway.

"Sir, I wish to prove that girls can become SOLDIERs as well as boys."


	9. Chapter 9

Sephiroth stared at Roy and quirked an eyebrow in amusement. The rest of his face stayed entirely the same and Roy suddenly felt very small.

"What's your name?" Sephiroth asked.

"Ro- Kayli." Roy said, almost slipping up as Roy was the name he had been using for so long now and he was used to it.

"Are you wearing a wig?" Sephiroth asked.

"No, Sir. But I was wearing one last night." Roy explained.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not that I'm aware of, Sir." Roy said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Then first of all I feel it is my duty to congratulate you on your excellent job of keeping your gender a secret for so long. Secondly, I would like to tell you that I find this incredibly amusing and would like to see how it plays out." Sephiroth said, moving around to grab some papers off his desk.

"Sir?" Roy asked with a frown.

"You're dismissed." Sephiroth said as he sat back down in his chair.

"You're not sending me home?" Roy asked, shocked.

"Would you like to be sent home?" Sephiroth questioned, raising an eyebrow again.

"No, Sir!" Roy quickly said.

"Then you're dismissed."

* * *

Roy only just had enough time to run to his room and grab his schedule to check what he had first before he was then grabbing a pair of shorts Rex had leant him and a black top, darting out of the room and running to the first class of the day.

Swimming.

Panting as he reached the indoor pool, he was thankful to see that he had just made it and headed over to Davis, Rex, Cloud and Edvard.

"Hey! You took _ages_ with Sephiroth!" Davis said, turning to face him. "We were beginning to wonder whether you were still alive."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roy said, still breathing hard.

"Quick, go get changed!" Rex said, pushing him towards the change rooms. "Everyone else is done and Sephiroth will be here any minute."

Roy nodded and ran off to change, piling his uniform together once he was out of it and leaving it with all the others before coming out again. Gulping, he slunk back to Davis and hoped Sephiroth, who had now arrived, didn't notice him.

Folding his arms over his chest in what he hoped was an inconspicuous way, Roy listened as Sephiroth began talking to them.

"Today we are going to start with working as a team. I want you all to form groups of three or four right now." Sephiroth paused and waited as everyone began looking around and working out what to do.

"But we've got five!" Rex hissed under his breath. "This isn't fair."

"Cloud, Edvard, go make a group of three with that guy." Davis said, pointing to another Infantryman in their squad who was standing to the side and looking for a group to join. Cloud and Edvard nodded and walked over to him.

"Looks like it's just us, then!" Rex grinned, looking from Roy to Davis and then over to Sephiroth, ready to pay attention again.

Once everyone was in a group, Sephiroth began walking in front of them, his hands behind his back.

"One person from your group is to volunteer to be the victim. They are to jump into the pool and pretend to be drowning. The others in your group are to work as a team to rescue them from the water." Sephiroth explained. "We are going to do it group by group, so whoever is last will have a greater advantage as they will be able to get tips from the ones who have gone before."

Everyone started murmuring amongst themselves and Rex turned to Davis and Roy, eyebrows raised and a sneaky grin on his face. Before either Davis or Roy had a chance to ask him what he was up to his hand had shot up and he was facing the front again.

"Yes?" Sephiroth asked him. Rex lowered his hand.

"I was wondering, Sir, could my group go first?" he asked. Roy squeaked, his mouth falling open as he stared at the back of Rex's head in horror. How dare he!?

"What a coincidence, I was going to ask your group to go first anyway. Please come up here." Sephiroth said, stepping to the side and waiting.

Roy shot Davis a distressed look, but followed Rex anyway with Davis then walking behind him.

"Which one of you would like to be the victim?" Sephiroth asked. Roy's mind went into a spin as he tried to figure out quickly whether it would be better for him to be the victim or the rescuer.

"Roy?" Rex asked. Roy looked up at him, his eyes wide.

"Uh, okay." he mumbled.

"Alright, we have our first victim." Sephiroth said to the others in the squad who were watching. Roy felt his face go red and turned to the pool, gulping quietly. Taking a step forward, he squatted down and slipped into the pool, swimming out to the middle and then turning back to face the group again.

"Don't worry Roy! I'll rescue you!" Rex called out, grinning and diving into the pool. Davis raised an eyebrow at Roy, an amused smile on his face, before he too dived into the pool.

Roy glanced down at himself as he paddled in the water to keep afloat, checking that his top hadn't gone see-through at all. He was glad he'd chosen a black top, but he was also worried about the bandage he had around his chest and whether it would stay in place or not.

Looking up again, Roy saw Rex surface just in front of him.

"Listen carefully!" Rex said, and Roy noticed Sephiroth walking around the edge of the pool in the corner of his eye.

"Listening." Roy said.

"I'm here to save you!" Rex said with a twinkle in his eye. "Please don't struggle, just trust me."

"Me too!" Davis said, swimming up to Roy's left side. "We're gonna get you back to dry land in no time. No need to panic."

"Sounds like fun," Roy said sarcastically. "I honestly see no point to this."

"Careful, Sephiroth's got mako hearing." Rex whispered. Roy rolled his eyes and grinned.

"Come on, start rescuing me already." he said with a sigh. Rex reached out and grabbed one of his arms, putting it around his neck as Davis did the same on the other side. They started swimming together towards the side of the pool when suddenly something came hurtling towards them from the left and crashed into the water, sending the three of them straight under the water as a huge wave was produced.

Sephiroth folded his arms and sighed, having just sent a fira at the three of them to spice things up a bit. They needed to experience just how difficult it would be in a real situation and catching them by surprise seemed to be the best way to do it.

Roy spluttered as he came up to the surface, gasping and trying to get air into his lungs. He quickly looked around for Davis and Rex, noticing them surfacing behind him. Swimming over to them, he quickly did a check to see if they were okay.

"What was that?" Rex asked, coughing.

"No idea, but come on." Roy said, gesturing at them to follow him to the side of the pool.

"Wait!" Davis said, glancing over at Sephiroth and then back at Roy. "You're supposed to be the victim still."

"Don't be stupid!" Roy retorted, grabbing Davis' arm and pulling him. Davis pulled backwards, trying to get out of his grip.

"Guys stop!" Rex said. "Roy, don't be an idiot. You're the victim and we're taking you to shore."

"Fine." Roy sighed, letting go of Davis. His two friends proceeded to grab his arms and swim towards the side of the pool with him.

Once they got there and climbed out, Sephiroth walked back over to them and raised an eyebrow.

"Sir, was that you?" Rex asked curiously.

"Yes." Sephiroth nodded. _Oh..._ Roy thought to himself.

"Oh, so how'd we go?"

"In all honesty I am disappointed." Sephiroth said. "If Peters had actually been in danger and you dragged him out by the arms his head could have gone under any moment. When I attacked you with a fira you were unprepared and lost your victim to the water, meaning he could have drowned. As I recall, _he_ swam to _you_.

"Now I think it is time I told you the number one rule about rescuing people from water." Sephiroth said thoughtfully.

Rex looked down, feeling embarrassed now that Sephiroth had said their faults in front of everyone else.

"The first thing to remember is that you should not help someone by yourself. This does not simply mean to go with at least one other person, but go with an extra life jacket or some other object that floats. If at all possible, you should go out to them with a boat so that you can immediately help them into it." Sephiroth said. "Now, why don't you just get the person to hold onto your back while you lead them to shore? Simple. Most likely the person will be panicking and therefore trying to get above the water at all costs. It is _more_ than likely that they will end up pushing you under water in order to make sure they're okay."

Roy kept listening as Sephiroth spoke, but glanced down at himself to check again whether everything was okay. His black shirt was sticking flat against his chest and he couldn't see any of his bandage hanging out anywhere, so it seemed as if he was safe for now.

"Now, who wants to go next?" Sephiroth asked, and one of the groups put their hands up. After getting the signal from Sephiroth, they all moved towards the pool and one of them quickly volunteered to be the victim, jumping into the pool first and swimming to the middle.

As they set to work, Sephiroth singled Roy out from the rest and made sure no one was listening before bending slightly to speak to him.

"You look like you've got a huge lump on your back." he said. Roy's eyes widened and his hands went to feel his back. His face went red as he realised the bandage had bunched up there.

"Um, Sir, can I-?"

"Go quickly. I'll make sure no one else goes in while you're there." Sephiroth said before straightening up again and walking over to the side of the pool, casually throwing a fira at the group.

Roy wasted no time in running to the change rooms to fix his bandage. He trusted that Sephiroth would keep everyone out until he was done, but was still nervous that someone might manage to sneak past for some reason and end up seeing him.

Finally fixing his problem, which had been harder to do seeing as he was still soaking wet, Roy emerged from the change rooms and walked back over to the group. He noticed Rex staring at him curiously but as soon as Rex saw him looking he turned away. _Don't you dare catch on..._ Roy thought to himself.

The next group to do the exercise was Cloud and Edvard's group. Edvard readily volunteered to be the victim and then swam to the middle as had been done the previous two times. Then Cloud and the other person in their group jumped into the pool and swam over to begin their rescue mission.

Roy sat down on the cold floor and hugged his knees. Now that he was lower than everyone else he could quite clearly see their hairy legs from their knees down, and he glanced down at his own legs momentarily.

Screwing up his face in slight disgust at the fact that he hadn't shaved his legs in a while, he hoped it wouldn't be obvious to the others that he shaved at all. It would only give them another reason to think him weird.

Davis walked over and sat down beside him just as Sephiroth threw a fira at Cloud and his group.

"Why does Sephiroth keep speaking to you?" Davis asked in a whisper that Roy could hardly hear.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, tensing up. Davis gave him a confused look but then turned away, obviously not wanting to repeat it. Roy felt a bit bad for keeping a secret from his friend, but he knew he couldn't tell him the truth no matter what.

* * *

Roy, Davis, Rex, Cloud and Edvard were eating lunch in the cafeteria after their swimming lesson. Edvard had once again piled his plate high and was eating it like there was no tomorrow. Roy took a bite of his food and looked around their table, his eyes falling on Rex who was frowning at him but then quickly looked away.

_Uh-oh._

"We've got guns next, right?" Davis asked as he shovelled some food into his mouth.

"Yeah," Cloud nodded. "Hopefully we might actually be _doing_ something instead of just learning how to take them apart and stuff."

"Don't you find all that fun, though?" Davis asked with a grin.

"Not as fun as blasting someone's head off, I'm sure." Rex commented with a chuckle and a smirk before it slipped off his face and he glanced at Roy again.

"Look, I'm not really hungry..." Roy mumbled, standing up. "I'm gonna go back to our room and hang for a bit."

He started walking to the door and glanced over his shoulder nervously to make sure Rex wasn't attempting to follow him. All he saw was Rex watching him with a deep frown creasing his forehead.

Reaching his room, he shut the door and leant against it. He wasn't sure what Rex was thinking, but he was worried that it might be exactly what he didn't want anyone to know.

Grabbing his schedule to double check that they had guns, he frowned. His schedule said that he had office duty with Angeal Hewley. What on earth was office duty and why wasn't he going to be with his friends learning about guns?

The door opened and Roy jumped, looking up to see who was entering. He swallowed and tried to calm his nerves as he saw Davis walk in and shut the door behind him.

"Everything alright?" Davis asked curiously, walking over to grab his own schedule.

"Yeah, but I've got office duty and not guns." Roy said, steering the conversation the way he wanted it to go.

"What? No way!" Davis exclaimed, immediately snatching his schedule off him to check it and see if he was telling the truth. "What the heck is office duty?"

"No clue." Roy sighed. "But I've met Angeal Hewley before so at least I know who I'm working with." Davis grunted a reply and gave his schedule back before walking to his bed and grabbing something from his bag.

"Hey, ready to take me on?" Davis said with a grin as he suddenly remembered their morning spat.

"Oh, I completely forgot about that." Roy said with a slight laugh. "I don't really feel up to it after swimming..."

"Excuses, excuses." Davis muttered, still grinning. Roy chuckled and shook his head, turning to shove his schedule back under his pillow where he kept it. Davis had pulled a book about guns out of his bag and was sitting on his bed looking at it, his expression now thoughtful.

"So that's how you know all about guns." Roy joked, gesturing at it. Davis nodded slowly in agreement and then looked up at him.

"What's up between you and Rex?" he asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Roy asked with a frown. Davis scowled, standing up and walking over to Roy.

"Stop saying that." he snapped. "I don't know what's going on with you, but you keep talking to Sephiroth about stuff which you won't tell me and now there's something weird going on between you and Rex." Roy quickly stood up.

"Look, I don't even know what's up with Rex-"

"Then why did you leave early? It's like he knows something and you don't want a confrontation or something." Davis folded his arms.

"Just drop it!" Roy said, his own eyes narrowing now. "It's none of your business so keep out of it."

"Fine with me." Davis replied shortly, turning and walking quickly from the room.

Roy sighed and sat down on his bed again, putting his head in his hands. If Rex really did know about him, then Davis might end up asking Rex what was going on and Rex might tell him. Then the news would spread even more and things would go downhill. _Should I talk to Rex before he has a chance to say anything to anyone else? I could get him to promise not to tell._

Standing up again, Roy decided to go find Angeal and ask him what they were meant to be doing in the time they had before six o'clock.

* * *

Angeal was in his office when Roy found him. He was busily writing a report and Roy was amazed at just how fast his hand was whooshing across the page.

"Ah, there you are." Angeal said when he looked up and noticed him. "Can you believe my computer crashed the day after you and Genesis came around to set them all up? Don't worry, it wasn't your fault. The stupid thing was corrupt, that's all."

"Sir, what exactly does 'office duty' include?" Roy asked curiously.

"We're just going around to make sure that all electrical equipment is working properly and if it isn't then we make a note of it and by the end we can send off the list of what isn't working to someone professional who can then come fix it." Angeal explained, standing up and putting the beginnings of his report into a drawer in his desk.

"Oh, okay." Roy said.

"Come on, I've already written down what's not working in here." Angeal grabbed a pen and a clipboard which had some paper on it and walked to the door, Roy following quickly. They turned right when they left Angeal's office and walked through the next door they found.

"Alright, start by checking the phone on the wall over there." Angeal said, pointing before walking forward to the flat-screen computer which sat on the desk in the room. He sat on the chair and began testing to see if it worked.

Roy walked over to the phone and picked it up, holding it to his ear. He could hear the dial tone so he hung the phone back up, satisfied that it was working. He then walked over to test the phone on the desk, doing the same thing.

"How come you have to do this job, Sir?" Roy asked. "Aren't you a 1st Class SOLDIER?"

"Heh, funny you should mention that. Sephiroth's been grumbling about how he has to train you guys ever since he found out." Angeal chuckled. "I suppose it is a bit strange that we have to do this, though I don't really mind. Your lot is cute."

Roy turned away to hide his blush and looked around for something else he could busy himself with. He walked over to a photocopier that stood at the side of the room and checked to see if that worked as well.

"I reckon you've all got a lot of potential for SOLDIER," Angeal continued. "Are you going to try out?"

"Yeah, it's what I've always wanted." Roy nodded, a smile working its way onto his face as he turned off the photocopier again.

"That's great! I always wanted to be a SOLDIER too," Angeal sighed and stared off into the distance as memories flooded his mind. "The Buster Sword I have was made for me specially."

"Is that everything in this room?" Roy asked. Angeal looked around and slowly nodded.

"Yeah, let's move on."

* * *

"I have a message for Edvard Frederiksen."

The guns instructor lowered his weapon and turned to the door, looking at the SOLDIER who stood there.

"And the message is...?" he asked.

"Professor Hojo has accepted him and requires him to go up to the lab immediately." the SOLDIER said, looking around the room for anyone who might look like an Edvard.

He didn't have to look for too long, as Edvard quickly made his way forward, his face lit up in excitement and happiness as if it was Christmas day already.

"Fine. Take him. What do I care?" the guns instructor shrugged, turning back to the rest of the class and lifting his gun again. Edvard followed the SOLDIER out of the room and through the corridors of ShinRa towards one of the elevators so that they could go up to the lab.

"You look a bit small to be going to see Professor Hojo. What's he accepted you into?" the SOLDIER asked as they stood in the elevator.

"He's accepted me to be his apprentice, Sir." Edvard replied, swallowing nervously.

"Apprentice? That's interesting." the SOLDIER commented. They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments and Edvard looked up at the numbers, watching them rise quickly. Finally the elevator dinged and the doors opened. "Alright, this is your level. Been here before?"

"Yes, I know where to go. Thank you, Sir." Edvard said, saluting and then stepping out and walking along a stretch of corridor before going into a room.

Professor Hojo looked up from what he was doing and grunted before looking down again. Edvard paused at the side of the room, not wanting to come further in until he was told he could do so.

"I suppose I should explain to you what's going to happen." Hojo said slowly, putting down something he was holding and pulling off a pair of rubber gloves. He walked over to Edvard and put his hands on his hips. "You will come here every morning instead of going to your other classes, then you will leave when it is lunchtime. After that you will come back. At the end of the day you will return to your normal room."

"Yes, Sir." Edvard said.

"It will be different to when you stayed in a room up on this level and ate with the scientists. I have been told that you must still have contact with the others in your squad." Hojo explained. "I wish I could keep you up here so that it's easier to find you if I discover something fascinating during the night, however this is how it is going to be and that is final. Now, if you'll just come over here..."

Hojo wandered over to the side of the room and picked up some of the equipment that was on a bench. Edvard followed slowly, eyes wide as they took in everything he was seeing.

Hojo then proceeded to explain to Edvard what each piece of equipment was and what it did. He explained the uses of different machines, where everything was stored and even what certain parts of the room were used for.

"Understand?" Hojo asked suddenly, staring at Edvard curiously. The boy quickly nodded and swallowed again. He felt so incredibly nervous about being in the presence of such an esteemed scientist. Hojo sighed and wandered to a different side of the room this time, fiddling with something.

Edvard stood quietly and patiently, waiting for further instructions and not daring to touch anything for fear of getting yelled at. It was a few more moments before Hojo seemed to remember the boy was still there and turned back to him.

"I will no longer be sending you out when doing things of great importance. You are to watch everything I do and take it all in." Hojo said firmly. "Sometimes I may even ask you to give a SOLDIER an injection or something. Of course, I won't until you've seen it done quite a few times, but expect it to be asked of you in the future."

Edvard swallowed again and nodded, his eyes following as Hojo walked over to a machine and detached something from the side, examining it carefully before re-attaching it.

"If I don't tell you that you can touch something, you are not to touch it. If I ask you to do something you are to do it immediately and without hesitation." Hojo rambled, grabbing another pair of rubber gloves and putting them on. Edvard watched as the scientist walked over to pick up a small vial that contained green liquid. Hojo gently prised off the lid and then tipped the contents into a test tube, bending down to watch the green liquid mix with the other substance that had already been in the tube.

Edvard gasped quietly as the liquid began bubbling and Hojo muttered something angrily, leaving the test tube and walking over to a cupboard, pulling out another vial. This one contained a yellowy substance.

"The problem with experimenting is that you never know whether it's going to blow up in your face." Hojo mumbled, tipping the yellow substance in with the rest. Taking a step back cautiously, Edvard bit his lip.

The door to the lab suddenly opened and Sephiroth walked in, going straight over to the chair that was in the middle of the room and sitting down.

"So you're back are you?" Sephiroth asked Edvard, who simply nodded, afraid of saying anything else to the 1st Class.

"Oh, hello Sephiroth." Hojo said, keeping his eyes on his concoction as he slowly lowered a gloved finger into it. Edvard stared in horror, wondering whether the liquid was going to eat away at the rubber and flesh, but Hojo didn't seem frightened in the slightest.

"I'd like another dose." Sephiroth said calmly, taking off his leather gloves and picking some dirt from underneath one of his fingernails.

"You, my friend, are becoming addicted I believe." Hojo stated. He withdrew his finger from the test tube and took off the gloves, turning to Sephiroth and sighing. Edvard found himself releasing a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, glad that Hojo hadn't harmed himself.

"Just do it." Sephiroth said, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Alright, alright." Hojo mumbled, walking over to grab a syringe. He quickly prepared it and filled it with mako before walking over to Sephiroth. "How many times do I have to tell you-!"

"Sorry, forgot." Sephiroth said, quickly standing up again and taking off his coat. He then sat back down, his biceps now exposed. Hojo shook his head and then moved forward to inject the mako into Sephiroth's arm.

"Honestly, you'd think from all the times you'd had mako injections that you'd remember the simple fact that you need to have your arms bare so that I can actually inject it!" Hojo grumbled.

Sephiroth snickered, a small smirk on his face. Edvard frowned slightly as he watched Hojo remove the syringe and walked over to dispose of it. Sephiroth stood up again and put his coat and gloves back on, moving towards the door. He paused and turned back, looking at Edvard.

"Am I to assume you won't be back in my classes, Frederiksen?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir." Edvard said, quickly moving his feet closer together so that he was standing at attention. Sephiroth chuckled and left the room in so swift of a movement that Edvard thought for a moment he had vaporised. He quickly shook his head and turned back to Hojo, seeing the scientist once again tipping something into the test tube he was using to experiment.

Squaring his shoulders, Edvard stood silently and waited for the moment when Hojo would ask him to do something for him. It was such an exciting thought that the poor boy almost squeaked out loud, but he managed to keep it inside by looking over at Hojo again to see his serious expression.

Disappointing Hojo would mean disappointing himself, and he did _not_ want that to happen.


	10. Chapter 10

When six o'clock came around, Angeal sent Roy back to his room where he found his three room mates already there.

"You missed out on the best guns class!" Cloud said excitedly. Roy raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Davis, who obviously wanted to tell him all about it but also didn't want to speak to him again just yet.

"What happened?" Roy asked.

"He made us stand really still and shot at us!" Cloud squeaked out. "But he missed every time!"

"The point of it was to show us how good an aim he has." Davis spoke up. "He fired the bullets straight over each of our heads."

"And Edvard's been approved as Hojo's apprentice! He got to leave right before being shot at. I reckon he was happy about it." Rex laughed, sitting down on his bed and unstrapping his knee guards.

"Does that mean we're never gonna see him again?" Roy asked with a frown.

"Who knows." Rex shrugged.

"What were you doing?" Cloud asked Roy.

"Oh, I had office duty with 1st Class Angeal Hewley." Roy explained. Looked like Davis hadn't told them.

"What?" Rex asked, an expression of confusion appearing on his face.

"We just went around checking what worked and what didn't." Roy sighed. "It was really boring, although I think I got given the honour talk..."

"The what talk?" Cloud asked.

Roy grinned. "Don't worry."

Davis looked over at Rex, a frown on his face. Rex shrugged in reply and Davis made some sort of small gesture which Rex shook his head at.

"If you want to talk in privacy go outside." Roy snapped, turning his back to them and clenching his teeth as he rummaged through his bag.

"Fine, we will." Davis replied, grabbing Rex's arm and dragging him out of the room. Cloud blinked in confusion and looked over at Roy.

"Is something wrong?" Cloud asked quietly.

"He's being a jerk." Roy mumbled.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"'Kay."

Roy sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, staring over at the door to their room and wishing he had super hearing so that he could know what they were talking about. Had Rex already told Davis what he thought?

The door opened again suddenly and Davis walked in.

"He wants to talk to you." he said stiffly, glancing at Roy and then continuing to his own bed. Roy sighed and stood, walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him. He looked over and saw Rex standing away to the left and went over to him.

"Yes?" Roy asked.

"Look, I just wanted to know..." Rex gulped and bit his lip. "I don't know how to say this, but, um,"

Roy tried his best not to panic. If Rex was this nervous, it meant that it probably wouldn't be too hard to convince him to keep his mouth shut when he finally spit out what he wanted to say.

"Basically, I've just got a question." Rex managed. "And uh, the question is pretty simple really..."

"Spit it out, Rex." Roy ordered. This was painful for him as well and the longer it took the more nervous he found himself.

"Are you gay?" Rex asked.

Roy blinked and stared, his eyes widening. "What?"

"Well, I just... you've been talking to Sephiroth a lot lately and you blush around us sometimes and you just... I dunno! But are you?" Rex fidgeted with his hands, obviously not wanting Roy to get mad at him.

"Have you told Davis this?" Roy asked.

"Well, yeah... he wanted to know why we weren't getting on very well." Rex admitted.

"Okay," Roy nodded thoughtfully. "Well don't worry, I'm not gay." _Wait... should I have said that? Maybe I should pretend I'm gay so that they don't think it's weird that I don't like girls. But then again, it'd make them awkward around me. Argh!_

"You're not?" Rex frowned. "Is it okay if I just... ask why you act weird sometimes?"

"Does it matter?" Roy asked pointedly.

"Well, no..."

"Then come on." Roy started walking back to their room and Rex followed, still a bit tense.

As they walked back into the room Davis and Cloud looked up at them curiously.

"All cool," Rex said with a grin. "Everybody's friends again." Davis stared at Rex questioningly, and Rex shook his head in reply. Davis then looked over at Roy, apparently not convinced.

"So what did Sephiroth say to you at swimming?" Davis asked.

"I don't have to tell you." Roy said, doing his best not to get angry.

"If you don't tell me then I'm going to assume that the two of you are-"

"Drop it, Davis!" Rex said firmly and Davis looked over at him, frowning. "Why would it even matter if he was? It's none of our business, and if I were him I wouldn't want to tell either!"

"I'm missing something." Cloud mumbled to himself.

"We're his friends, aren't we? Why can't he just tell us that he's-"

"But I'm not!" Roy yelled. "Stop accusing me when you have no proof!"

"Don't be stupid, of course we've got proof!" Davis retorted. "You went shopping with a girl who wasn't your girlfriend, you keep talking to Sephiroth a lot, you blush around us and – oh yeah, what happened to your fear of water? You looked fine in there today! Took care of yourself perfectly! Does Sephiroth have a cure for that as well? What else have you lied about, Roy? Is your name even Roy? Who are you?"

Roy stared at Davis, his face flaming up in embarrassment and anger that Davis had connected so much together. The only thing he felt like doing right at that moment was lunging at Davis and ripping his hair out.

Breathing quickly, Roy walked to the door and slipped out of the room just before a tear slipped down his cheek.

"You know I'm right!" He heard Davis yell from their room and quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, walking away in desperation to get as far away from them as possible. He couldn't stand it any more. He didn't want to lie to them.

* * *

"What is it?" Sephiroth asked with a frown, staring down at the bundle of joy in Zack's arms.

"It's a puppy!" Zack exclaimed. "Angeal told me to give it to you!"

"I don't want it." Sephiroth said, stepping back slightly and slamming the door in Zack's face.

"But Angeal told me to!" Zack whined loudly through the door.

"I don't care. Dump it outside somewhere." Sephiroth said with a sigh. Zack gasped and Sephiroth groaned.

"How could you say such a thing?" Zack asked angrily. "I'm going to keep it, now!"

"You do that." Sephiroth mumbled, sitting down at his desk. Zack didn't say anything more and the General figured he had gone. Thank goodness.

Just as Sephiroth was about to begin some paperwork he hadn't yet started, the phone on his desk rang and he picked it up.

"General Sephiroth speaking." he said.

"Sir, we've just had a call from an Amos Taison claiming that his son has joined ShinRa without his permission and he wants him to return home. I was told to inform you as you teach the Infantrymen for swimming and may be able to identify which one is the son of this man."

"Can't you just go through the list and find a Taison?" Sephiroth asked.

"Sir, there is no Infantryman by the last name of Taison. I personally checked the files myself."

"Then the man must be lying." Sephiroth shrugged.

"Sir, he said his son may have changed his name so as to not be found."

"Alright," Sephiroth stood up. "How did he describe his son?"

* * *

Roy walked into the cafeteria ten minutes later than the time dinner was said to be. He got himself some food and then looked around for a seat, not wanting to sit with Davis and Rex but realising that he didn't know anyone else he _could_ sit with.

Swallowing nervously, he walked over to them and sat at the end of their small table, staring down at his tray and hoping they wouldn't yell at him.

"I'm getting more food," Rex said, standing up. "Want more, Spiky?" Without even waiting for a reply, he grabbed Cloud and pulled him to his feet, dragging him over to get more food and leaving Davis and Roy alone at the table.

"I'm sorry." Roy said quietly.

"You don't have to be," Davis said slowly. "I'm the one that should be sorry. In fact, there's something I have to tell you." Roy glanced up at him and frowned slightly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Uh, you see," Davis gulped and looked away. "I'm not-"

The doors to the cafeteria opened and Sephiroth stepped through, his voice calling out loud enough for everyone in the room hear him. "All Infantrymen are to come and line outside this instant!"

All the Infantrymen began scrambling up and making their way over to the doors, abandoning their food. Davis shot Roy a worried look before they also made their way out the doors and into the line. Rex and Cloud made their way over to them and they all stood together, wondering what was going on. Sephiroth closed the doors to the cafeteria again once all the Infantrymen were out and faced them.

"Anyone with blond hair can go back inside." Sephiroth said. Cloud and Rex exchanged a glance before looking back at Davis and Roy. Shrugging, they made their way back into the cafeteria with some other Infantrymen who were also blond.

"Roy," Davis whispered. "Listen up quick. I wanna be the one to tell you."

"What?" Roy asked, looking over at him. Was is possible Davis was in some kind of trouble and that was what this was all about?

"I'm-"

"Son of Amos Taison, if you come forward right now I can try and help you." Sephiroth said, his eyes wandering over every single boy still standing there and lingering on Davis. Davis gulped and shrunk back slightly.

"What's going on?" Roy asked him quietly.

"Promise you won't get mad like I did." Davis hissed.

"I promise."

"My name isn't Taylor Davis."

Sephiroth sighed and folded his arms. "Everyone can go except you two." he said, his eyes staring straight at Roy and Davis. Everyone glanced at them before filing back into the cafeteria and finally the three of them were left alone.

"Sir, I'm sorry!" Davis began.

"Silence." Sephiroth ordered and Davis fell silent instantly. _Davis lied about his name? I didn't even know his first name to begin with._

"Your father called. He's worried about you." Sephiroth said. Davis snorted, turning away and clenching his fists. "If you need help we can provide it." Sephiroth added.

"I just want to stay at ShinRa, Sir." Davis said. "I want to become a SOLDIER and I'm going to."

"I don't doubt that you're very capable of doing so, however I am going to have to ask you whether there is any more information of yourself which you have lied about." Sephiroth said gently.

"No, Sir," Davis shook his head. "It was just my name."

"Very well," Sephiroth nodded. "I believe you and _Roy_ Peters are going to have a lot to talk about from now on."

"Sir!" Roy protested, beginning to panic as he glanced from Sephiroth to Davis and back again. Davis frowned.

"Your name isn't Roy?" Davis asked quietly. Roy clenched his teeth together and refused to look at him again, staring at Sephiroth with a look of betrayal.

"It's only fair that seeing as you both lied about something you should be aware of the others lie." Sephiroth said. "As you are already now aware of Taison's lie, he deserves to know yours."

Roy lowered his eyes to stare at his feet, feeling incredibly small once again. He didn't want to tell Davis! If he did, Davis would know he was Kayli and that the girl he had a crush on knew all about his crush on her. They'd never be able to talk normally ever again!

"I can't." Roy choked out.

"Then I will." Sephiroth said, turning to Davis and not pausing to listen as Roy began pleading with him not to. "Your friend Roy Peters is in fact a girl. Her name is Kayli Peters and she was at the bar that night when you were not supposed to be there."

Kayli could have commit suicide then and there if she had the means. She could feel Davis staring at her and just _knew_ the world was going to end. There was no way she would be able to keep up the act when Davis now knew her secret as well. Davis would never talk to her again and they wouldn't be able to tell Rex and Cloud why. Rex would then get angry with her too and Cloud wouldn't know what to do or who's side to take.

Kayli looked up as Sephiroth walked away, feeling even worse now that she was alone with Davis, who was still staring at her.

"Oh crud." Davis said.

"My thoughts exactly." Kayli muttered.

"Crud! You heard everything I said and it was all about you! Why didn't you make me shut up? Oh my gosh!" Davis put his hands to his head in horror and continued staring, his face bright red.

"I'm so sorry!" Kayli said, finally looking over at him.

"I can't believe I didn't realise before." Davis said, lowering his hands and squinting slightly as he stared at her. "I can see the resemblance now."

"Are you gonna tell anyone?" Kayli asked nervously.

"Tell? Of course not! But will you go out with me?" Davis practically begged.

"Uh, let's come back later." Rex said, grabbing Cloud's arm and dragging him back into the cafeteria where they had just come from. Davis' mouth dropped open and he stared at the closed door in disbelief. Kayli couldn't help the snort of laughter that came out of her mouth and hurriedly tried to smother it with a hand, failing as Davis glared over at her.

* * *

"But he didn't want it!" Zack whined, his puppy-dog-eyes at work and his bottom lip wobbling as he stared at Angeal, who was currently holding the puppy he had been told to give to Sephiroth.

"Then go give it to some poor child that wants one. You can't keep it!" Angeal replied.

"But I already named him and everything!" Zack complained.

"Oh, please don't tell me..." Angeal groaned.

"I called him Bubbles! He's so lively and so much like me, don't you think? He's so adorable and I thought Bubbles suited him perfectly." Zack explained.

"Then when you give him away, tell the new owners that his name his Bubbles. You are _not_ keeping him." Angeal said firmly and decisively.

"But I really just want-"

"No! It's bad enough having to look after you half the time, I will not let you keep your own puppy and then make me look after it whenever you're too busy." Angeal shook his head.

"But I won't! I'll look after it myself and you'll never have to help if you don't want to." Zack assured him.

"I don't believe you." Angeal said simply.

"But it's true!" Zack persisted. "I'll buy it food and train it and everything all by myself!"

"Zack, just take it outside and give it to someone else." Angeal said.

"But, Angeeeeeaaaaaaal!" Zack whined, pouting even more now. Angeal raised an eyebrow at him and folded his arms, tapping his foot.

"That's an order."

"Ahhhhh, I hate it when you say that!"


	11. Chapter 11

"Gemma?" Kayli whispered into her phone, standing on the roof of the ShinRa building. It was beautiful up there at night, what with all the stars shining down on her.

"Kayli? What's happened now?" Gemma asked.

"Um, I kind of have a boyfriend." Kayli admitted nervously, grinning.

"What!? Kayli! You're pretending to be a guy!" Gemma gasped.

"I know! But he found out I was a girl and then asked me out so, uh, yeah." Kayli shrugged even though Gemma wouldn't be able to see.

"How do you know he's gonna keep it a secret?" Gemma asked hurriedly.

"Well he said he would..." Kayli said feebly.

"Did I meet him when I came to visit?" Gemma asked, now excited.

"Yeah, his name is Davis. He was the one with the brown hair." Kayli explained, twirling a finger in her short black hair. "Oh and by the way, Rex – the one with the dusty blond hair – wanted me to talk him up to you."

"One of your friends likes me?" Gemma gasped again.

Kayli giggled. "Yeah, he does. Although just a warning – he also likes a lot of other girls as well."

"Aww, what a cutie! I bet he's just keeping some options open until one of them likes him back." Gemma sighed dreamily.

"Don't get your hopes up! He's a great guy, but I _obviously_ don't know what he's like around girls." Kayli reminded her friend.

"Yeah, yeah." Gemma mumbled. "Anyway, so tell me how you were asked out!"

"Actually, it's pretty funny..." Kayli bit her lip to stop from laughing. "Rex and Cloud walked out just as he asked so they reckon he's gay. How hilarious is that? He's upset with me for not telling him they had walked out though, but I didn't even realise until Rex spoke!"

"Are you serious? You're kidding, right?" Gemma gasped out. She seemed to be doing that a lot.

"No I'm serious!" Kayli really did laugh this time and hoped no one was around to hear it.

"That poor boy... I really pity him!" Gemma sighed. "Anyway, shouldn't you be in bed? It's almost midnight."

"Yeah, I just wanted to call you and let you know what was happening." Kayli shrugged to herself.

"Then I'll talk to you again some time... in a while probably." Gemma said. "Bye!"

Kayli hung up and put her phone back in her pocket, heading over to the stairs to go back down into the building. She hoped she would be able to make it back to her room without being seen and questioned.

Thankfully, she soon found herself safely inside her room and tiptoeing over to her bed in order not to wake anyone up. She slipped under her covers and rolled over, closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep. She couldn't believe she had actually succeeded in getting this far in ShinRa already with only two people discovering who she was.

Why Sephiroth hadn't had her kicked out still eluded her but she wasn't complaining, and in another few minutes she was fast asleep.

* * *

"Ti-ime to get u-up!" Rex called in a sing-song voice. "Isn't the world a beautiful place? Too bad I share a room with two people who are li-ars!"

"Oh, shut up." Roy mumbled, rolling over and shoving his pillow over his head.

"But Roy, my song is about yo-ou!" Rex continued. "The one who said he wa-asn't ga-ay and then turned out to be-e ga-"

Rex suddenly had a pillow hit him in the head and stumbled backwards slightly, laughing at the reaction he had gotten. His stopped laughing when he realised it was Davis who had thrown it.

"Oh, you're awake too." Rex mumbled.

"Of course I'm awake! It's impossible to sleep with you making a racket like that." Davis grumbled. He was still in his pyjamas and had folded his arms across his chest in annoyance, his eyebrows narrowed in a glare.

"Sorry about that. I just thought everyone would be happy this morning what with the newest couple to be formed-"

"Rex!" Davis yelled, his face going instantly red. Rex chuckled and turned away, covering his mouth with one hand.

"If you want to deny it you're going to have to do better than that!" Rex teased, going over to his bed to grab his belt.

"Roy! Get up!" Davis ordered angrily, going over and pulling Roy's covers right off him. Roy yelped loudly and fell off his bed in an attempt at grabbing them back, his body then curling up again to try and get warm.

"Leave me alone..." Roy whimpered.

"Roy," Davis said, glancing at Rex and then lowering his voice. "Please..."

"No." Roy snapped instantly, turning his head to glare up at Davis icily.

"Cloud look! It's a lovers spat!" Rex commented, pointing at Davis and Roy melodramatically, with a hand over his mouth. Cloud was sitting on his bed pulling his boots on and glanced over very quickly before looking back down at his boots again.

"Rex, if you don't shut up I am seriously going to kill you!" Davis threatened, straightening up and putting his hands on his hips.

"Aww, no you won't! I'm your best friend!" Rex laughed.

"Rex, it's not funny!" Davis said. "I- I'm not gay!"

"So you asked Roy out because...?" Rex folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for a good reason from Davis.

"Finally! What I've wanted you to ask the entire time!" Davis exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air. "Now, my explanation is quite simple. You heard me _wrong_ as I didn't ask Roy out, but I said 'Will you ask her out for me?'"

Rex and Davis stared at each other for a few moments in silence until Roy stumbled to his feet, looking over at them and chuckling.

"Feel stupid now, Rex?" he asked.

"You mean-" Rex blinked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, that's what he said. And I said no. Because that's my _sister_ we're talking about!" Roy put his hands on his hips too and smirked. He had to admit, Davis' version of what had happened was quite believable.

"Sorry, Davis." Rex muttered, turning away and feeling foolish. Davis shot a look of relief at Roy, who just shrugged in reply.

"At least that's all cleared up now." Davis said, picking up his uniform from his bed. He was about to begin getting changed when something occurred to him and he blushed bright red again, looking over at Roy.

Roy caught his eye and frowned before realising his problem and laughing quietly, turning around to give his friend privacy. Things would certainly be more interesting from now on.

Once the four room-mates were all ready for breakfast they left together and sat at the same table. Roy and Davis were next to each other, both feeling rather nervous and doing their best not to let it show in case Rex noticed something.

"Did you hear?" an infantryman standing near their table said to his friend. "Some of us are going to be sent with a couple of SOLDIERs to Modeoheim and others to Kalm."

"Are you serious?" Davis gasped, standing up and inviting himself into their conversation. The infantryman turned to him and grinned, nodding.

"Yeah! Genesis Rhapsodos is taking a couple of us to Modeoheim and General Sephiroth is going to Kalm." he explained.

"Do you reckon he'd pick me? He'd pick me, right?" Davis asked excitedly, practically bouncing in his thrill.

"Who knows?" the infantryman laughed. "Everyone wants to go so you'd better do your absolute best in your lessons today."

"Oh wow, I can't wait!" Davis turned to face Roy, Rex and Cloud and saw the same excitement on their faces as was on his. "I so hope I get to go!"

"If you don't sit down and eat you'll be late to your lesson and make a bad impression. Come on!" Rex grabbed Davis' sleeve and pulled him back down, although he couldn't hide his own smile.

After breakfast they had guns, so they headed there together and spoke excitedly of the upcoming missions which they hoped to be chosen to go on. The news had brought Cloud out of his shell a bit more and he was also adding how eager he was to go.

When they arrived at their destination they quickly shut up as they noticed their instructor had a glare on his face and didn't look happy in the least.

"It appears you've heard a rumour about some missions which some of you will be going on..." he began slowly, and all their hearts sank. A rumour? That was too bad. "This is, in fact, true."

Everyone began murmuring amongst each other, but were quiet again when the instructor cleared his throat in annoyance and raised his favourite gun slightly.

"I will personally be suggesting two of you to be sent to Modeoheim, but do not attempt to get the names from me as I will not tell." His eyes lingered on Davis for a moment and Davis could have sworn he saw him wink, but then he continued looking around the room at everyone else and Davis wondered if he had imagined it all.

"Now, if I hear one word from any of you about the missions this lesson I will send you outside and report you. Let's begin. Come and collect a gun and we'll have a go at shooting at smaller targets today."

Everyone slowly made their way to the front to grab a gun before moving back again and awaiting for further instructions. Rex and Davis were itching to talk about the mission and Davis also eager to tell someone he thought their instructor was going to suggest him for it, but they both knew they would get in trouble if they spoke about it and therefore kept their mouth shut.

The lesson went smoothly and without a hitch. It turned out that their instructor was _not_ in a bad mood and was actually in the best mood he'd been in since they had met him. This meant that whenever someone made a mistake they were not yelled at and reprimanded, but told how to improve for next time.

"That was awesome!" Cloud said as they walked back to their room afterwards. "I think I'm actually getting the hang of it now!"

"Guys, guys, guys!" Davis said excitedly, interrupting Cloud. "He looked at me when he was talking about suggesting one of us! What if he suggests me? Do you think he will? I'm good with guns, he'll suggest me right?"

"If you get any more excited you'll put Zack Fair out of a job!" Rex laughed.

"Tell me about it!" Roy agreed with a laugh.

"Oh come on, just tell me if you think I've got a chance of being chosen to go!" Davis begged.

"Alright, you have a wonderful chance of going. Happy?" Rex asked, grinning.

"Be serious!" Davis said, shoving Rex playfully.

"I am!" Rex protested, chuckling.

Davis bit his lip excitedly and continued walking in silence. There was definitely a new bounce to his step and Roy and Rex exchanged a glance to snicker. If Davis got chosen to go they would be ecstatic for him, but they couldn't help hoping they would get to go as well.

When they reached their room, they were about to go inside when suddenly all of their phones went off to say they had received a message. They froze in their steps and blinked stupidly for a few moments until Roy took the initiative of pulling out his phone and looking to see what he'd gotten.

"OhmygoshI'mgoingtoKalm!" he squealed in a _very_ girlish voice. Instantly the other three pulled out their phones and jaws dropped all around as they read their messages.

"Me too!" Cloud exclaimed.

"I'm going to Modeoheim!" Davis yelled, punching the air with a fist.

"Same!" Rex laughed, the shock on his face evident as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Wait, that means we're split up!" Roy said, pouting.

"So what? I'm going to _M__odeoheim!_" Rex laughed and high-fived Davis enthusiastically. Roy couldn't help but laugh and then nodded in agreement.

"Whoa dude, Cloud, we're going to Kalm!" he exclaimed.

"What do you think we'll have to do?" Cloud asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Nothing we can't handle, don't worry." Roy said with a grin. "Sephiroth'll look after us."

Davis shot Roy a look and narrowed his eyes slightly in question. Sephiroth knew about Roy, so the trip to Kalm was sure to be interesting. Davis wondered what Sephiroth would make Roy do, knowing that he was actually a girl. Would he be allowed to do the same things? Surely he would despite his, er, 'condition'.

"Whoa! Guys did you see? We leave in three days!" Rex suddenly exclaimed loudly, staring down at his phone again.

"Serious?" Davis asked, looking down at his phone as well and his eyes widening as he saw it was true.

"This is going to be _so_ awesome." Roy said with a smile.

"Whoa! Whoa! Davis scroll down the message!" Rex said, hitting Davis' arm to get him into action. Davis frowned and scrolled down obediently before his eyebrows raised.

"A Turk's going with us?" he asked.

"Not just _any_ Turk! A _female_ Turk!" Rex beamed. "Check out her name! Kissnei, almost kiss-me!"

"You jerk!" Roy laughed, whacking Rex upside the head. "Do you ever think of anything other than hitting on girls?"

"Uh, not much." Rex grinned cheekily.

"Rex, doesn't it say Cissnei?" Davis asked, raising one eyebrow.

Rex was silent for a moment before he huffed and turned away from them snobbishly, pretending to be offended.

"It's not _my_ fault I can't always pronounce things correctly." he said, sniffing dramatically.

"Get over yourself." Davis said bluntly, walking forward and into their room which they had been standing just outside of the whole time during that conversation. The other three soon followed and Roy sighed loudly, going over and sitting on his bed.

"Kalm. I'm going to Kalm!" he laughed to himself and shook his head slightly.

"Hey, uh, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but if we don't hurry up we're going to be late to field activities." Cloud said, his head buried in his schedule.

"At least you've got a point, Spike," Rex said with a small shrug, picking his helmet up from where it sat on his bed and shoving it on his head. "and have I ever mentioned how much I hate these helmets?" he asked curiously.

"No, I don't think you have." Davis replied, pulling his own helmet on as well.

"Well, I hate them a lot!" Rex said. "They mess up my hair."

"_Same!_" Cloud squeaked, a look of utter disbelief as he stared over at Rex. "I though I was the only one!"

Davis burst out laughing and put an arm around Roy's shoulders, leading him out of the room and the corridor.

"And here I was thinking _you_ were girly." he said quietly, causing Roy to then laugh as well.

* * *

Standing on the grass outside, Roy, Davis, Cloud and Rex all were silent as they listened to their instructor speak to them. Their instructor called himself Brawn and was the same man who had taken Roy to General Sephiroth a while ago for laughing.

Since then, their group of Infantryman had gotten a lot better at running for long periods of time as they did it at least once a week.

"All of you _except_ for you four excited looking kids in the front are going to be doing the same thing today. So off you go." Brawn snapped. Roy glanced over at Davis, who was glancing at Rex and Cloud before looking back to the front at Brawn. No doubt they were who he had been talking about.

Everyone else took off from around them and soon they were left alone with the man who frightened them almost enough to have nightmares.

"I hear you four are going to be leaving for missions in a few days." Brawn began. "To prepare you, I've thought up something a little different."

Roy swallowed nervously and watched as Brawn bent down to pick up some guns which had been lying at his feet. He handed one to each of them and then bent down to pick up some materia as well. Roy noticed Rex had suddenly become a hundred times more excited when Brawn picked up the materia, but they weren't given it and instead Brawn picked up another gun – different to theirs – and inserted the materia into it.

"You're going to start over there," Brawn pointed to an area off in the distance. "And then make your way towards me. I'm going to be shooting at you and you're going to be shooting at me. Do your best."

As the four of them made their way off in the direction they had been pointed, Roy and Davis exchanged a glance.

"He wouldn't make us do this if it risked us getting killed." Davis said reassuringly. "He'd get busted for it."

"At least we know we're not going to _die _then." Rex said sarcastically.

"What materia was that, anyway?" Cloud asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"Who knows. We've just got to remember to work together. What strategy should we use?" Davis asked, immediately getting into the technicalities. "We won't be able to start shooting right away or we'll just waste our ammo, because the distance is too far and it would fall short before reaching him. What he's got probably has more power though, so we'll probably be under attack as soon as we begin."

"How are we going to avoid being hit while we gain the distance needed to begin shooting back?" Rex asked, frowning. Davis grinned and looked down at the ground, the cogs in his head working overtime.

"Okay, don't slow down just yet. But when I say 'now', we're to all turn around, start running, and fire at him." Davis whispered.

"Whoa, I feel sneaky." Rex hissed excitedly.

"Won't we get in trouble?" Cloud asked, eyes wide in worry. Davis glanced at him with a grin and then looked ahead of himself again, counting steps in his head.

They were all silent for a few minutes as they continued walking, and then Davis shouted, "_Now!_" and they spun on their heels, sprinting back in the direction of where they had come from and opening fire.

Brawn hadn't been expecting their sudden attack, but he recovered quickly and returned some shots. The bullets which they fired at him all seemed to stop right in front of him like harmless beetles and fall to the ground, but what he fired at them didn't stop no matter how close it got to them.

"Strife! Left!" Davis yelled, noticing one of the blasts from Brawn's gun heading straight for the small blond boy. Cloud obediently dodged to the left and was unscathed, moving back afterwards and continuing to run with them.

Roy felt like he was useless, as he was finding it incredibly difficult to aim at Brawn while running and they hadn't gone over this in their guns class yet. Up until now, the only shooting they had done was while standing still.

Now approximately 100 yards away from Brawn, the four of them continued shooting and dodging the blasts that came their way. Just as Brawn fired another at Davis, however, he swiftly turned his gun and fired another towards Roy.

Roy had fired a few shots and then turned his head slightly to make sure Davis had seen what was coming for him, but in that momentary loss of concentration he hadn't noticed the blast heading for him as well and the next second as he looked in front of himself again he only had time to widen his eyes before it slammed him in the chest and knocked him over backwards.

At first, Roy only thought of the pain. Slowly, he found himself able to think again and thought that surely it wasn't meant to hurt this much. Especially not in his back. Why _was_ his back hurting anyway?

"Roy!" came Davis' voice from above him, and he slowly opened his eyes to look up.

"Get up, Peters." came Brawn's gruff voice then, as he was standing to the side with his arms folded and looking unimpressed.

"Sir, I think I broke my back." Roy mumbled.

"What?" Davis exclaimed, eyes going wide in horror. "You could be paralysed for life!"

"Nonsense." Brawn snapped, reaching down and grabbing one of Roy's arms to pull him to his feet.

"Ow! Okay, not broken, but it really hurts!" Roy complained.

"No wonder." Brawn grunted. "You landed on your gun, dimwit. What were you doing to get it back there, ballet?"

Roy chuckled and then winced, putting a hand on his back.

"Can I take him to the infirmary, Sir?" Davis asked cautiously.

"Yeah, may as well. They'd better get him patched up before he has to leave anyway." Brawn took their guns off them and tucked them under one arm, frowning. "Good work out here, by the way. Nice tactic."

Then he turned stiffly and walked away to keep an eye on the rest of in the Infantrymen and the four friends were able to go back into the ShinRa building, all silently agreeing to go to the infirmary together.

"You know, I can actually see you doing ballet, Roy." Rex said in a light, casual voice.

Roy laughed and went to hit him but thought better of it, giving Davis a look and snickering as Davis hit Rex for him.


	12. Chapter 12

Davis and Rex had left early in the morning for their mission, leaving Cloud and Roy to make their way to the debriefing room to meet Lazard by themselves. Cloud looked beyond nervous – probably because he was going on a mission which _Sephiroth_ would be overseeing – and Roy tried to help him relax slightly by chatting loosely as they walked.

They had almost reached the debriefing room when a familiar face appeared around a corner in front of them, lighting up immediately in excitement.

"Hey!" Zack said, quickening his steps to reach them. "Heard you're going to Kalm?"

"That's right, Sir." Roy said with a nod.

"Awesome! Have fun, and don't annoy Seph too much or he might drop you out of the helicopter. Hey, I'm joking, Spike! Relax." Zack laughed at Cloud's horrified expression and shook his head.

"We need to be briefed..." Roy muttered, grabbing Cloud's arm and leading him to the door, going inside before Zack could say another word.

"Ah, there you are." Lazard said, standing from where he had been sitting at the head of the table in the room.

"Sorry Sir," Roy said, taking a seat with Cloud beside him. "We met Zack Fair outside."

"Well that definitely explains things." Lazard said with a smile. "Now, on to business."

Lazard sat back down and leafed through his papers for a moment. Sephiroth was sitting across from Roy and Cloud, his emotionless face staring at the wall behind them.

"As you all know, today you will be setting off for Kalm. I have already briefed Sephiroth on his role in this mission, so now all that is left to be said is what you two will be doing." Lazard began. Roy glanced at Cloud curiously, wondering what Sephiroth's job was. "Part of the wall surrounding Kalm has crumbled at one side, allowing the possibility of monsters to get in and attack the people. When you're not at the inn you will be guarding the wall as it is rebuilt, simply to ensure that no work men are injured. Clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Roy and Cloud said in sync. Roy was feeling a bit disappointed and worried – disappointed that all they were needed for was to guard a wall and worried that he wouldn't be able to fend off any monsters that tried to get through.

"Then you're dismissed." Lazard said. "Sephiroth, I'd like a full report on my desk two days after you're back."

Sephiroth stood and nodded at Lazard before leaving the room silently. Roy and Cloud then also stood up, saluted, and left.

"Guarding a wall?" Cloud asked once they were out.

"I know, great first mission, don't you think?" Roy replied sarcastically. Cloud sighed and Roy chuckled.

"I wonder what Davis and Rex will be doing in Modeoheim." Cloud muttered as they headed outside.

"Probably something _really boring_." Roy laughed. "I mean, we got to go with the more important SOLDIER so our mission must be more exciting, right?"

"You've got a point, I guess." Cloud grinned slightly.

"Of course I do!" Roy slung an arm around Cloud's shoulder and they stayed like that as they walked until Roy finally moved away out of awkwardness. He hoped Cloud wouldn't notice anything.

"Roy..." Cloud said thoughtfully, and Roy hoped desperately he was going to ask something else about the mission. "Why don't you want people to know you're going out with Davis?"

Roy stopped walking and slowly turned his head to look at Cloud, who after taking a few more steps had also stopped and turned to look. They stared at each other silently for a while until Roy frowned and folded his arms cautiously.

"What makes you think that we are?" he asked in what he hoped sounded like a casual tone of voice. Cloud shifted awkwardly.

"Well, just the way you interact I guess. And that morning when Rex was singing about it you kept shooting Davis looks and it seemed like you were communicating that way." Cloud shrugged and fell silent, looking as if he now felt silly for choosing to speak up in the first place.

"Look, Cloud," Roy said. "I would love to explain things to you, but you wouldn't understand."

"I'm smarter than I look." Cloud mumbled, an angry look crossing his face.

"That's- that's not what I meant." Roy said quickly. "The only way I can explain things wouldn't make sense to _anyone_ okay?"

Cloud sighed but nodded.

"Let's just focus on our mission, alright? Sephiroth's probably already wondering whether we've gotten ourselves killed before even reaching the helicopter." Roy tried to laugh but found nothing very funny about their situation and ended up pretending he had coughed.

"Yeah, okay, let's go." Cloud moved to continue walking and Roy followed, the two of them now silent.

* * *

Roy and Cloud sat close together in the helicopter while Sephiroth sat up the front with the pilot, talking in a hushed voice.

"How long do you think it's going to take to get there?" Cloud asked quietly.

"I have no idea, but it shouldn't take too long." Roy shrugged. So far Sephiroth had ignored the both of them but he felt that sooner or later the General would single him out to have a little chat.

"We won't crash, will we?" Cloud whimpered. Roy grinned and put an arm around his shoulders comfortingly.

"Of course not. And even if something does go wrong, Sephiroth will get us all out safely. What do you think the parachutes are for?"

Cloud just nodded silently, staring at the floor. Roy found it amusing how scared he looked but didn't say anything, knowing it would only agitate the blond even more.

"Alright,"

Roy jumped, not having realised that Sephiroth had entered their area.

"We'll be there in five minutes..." Sephiroth narrowed his eyebrows as he noticed Roy's arm around Cloud's shoulders and Roy hurriedly removed it. "...So get ready to leave."

"Yes Sir." Roy said with a nod and Cloud murmured the same words in a bit of an echo.

"Once we're there I'll take you straight to the inn where you can dump your bags and then you'll be lead by one of the workers to the wall where you will be stationed for the rest of the day. The workers will provide lunch for you as well."

Turning, Sephiroth went back to the cockpit to talk to the pilot again. Roy was slightly miffed as he got the feeling Sephiroth found the pilot to be better company than they were.

"I'm glad we're gonna be there soon." Cloud mumbled.

"Yeah, and I hope we get good lunches, too!" Roy said, frowning.

"Roy," Cloud whispered. "Can you push your bag in front of the window?"

Roy's frown deepened and he glanced at Cloud before kicking his leg out to push it in front of the window, sealing off the view of the land which they were flying above.

"Are you okay?" Roy asked.

"Yeah." Cloud nodded.

"You sure?"

"I just don't like heights."

"Oh, okay." Roy left it at that, now also glad that it would be less than five minutes until they landed. He didn't want Cloud becoming a nervous wreck on him, as he was sure Sephiroth wouldn't hesitate in dangling him out of the helicopter by one leg just to make him conquer his fear.

Yeah, fine. Roy could admit he was _slightly_ bitter towards the General.

When they finally reached the ground, Roy quickly unbelted himself and grabbed his bag, heading over to the door. Sephiroth came back from the cockpit and went out first, waiting for them on the ground.

"Stay close." he said before heading over to the gate and speaking a few words to the man who stood there. Soon enough the gate was opened and they were allowed to walk in.

Sephiroth obviously knew where he was going because he didn't falter as he began walking through the streets of Kalm. Roy and Cloud kept looking around them in awe, taking in their surroundings.

"Your room is the third on the left." Sephiroth said, as they entered a small inn. He let them go past and waited near the entrance.

Roy and Cloud quickly found the third door on the left, going inside and dumping their bags. They then strapped on their guns which had been left off so as not to be uncomfortable in the helicopter and moved out to Sephiroth again, following as he left the inn.

"There were no locks on those doors." Cloud whispered to Roy as they walked.

"I doubt anyone will steal our stuff, relax." Roy replied. Cloud frowned but nodded, staying silent.

It wasn't long until Sephiroth brought Roy and Cloud to the crumbling wall where many men were already working hard to fix it.

"Alright, Strife will be stationed on the outside of the wall and Peters will be stationed inside." Sephiroth said. Cloud's eyes widened. "If you have any questions ask them now."

"Why aren't we both going to be stationed outside?" Roy asked instantly.

"If a monster does attack and manages to get past the person on the outside, the person on the inside is the next line of defence. It's up to you to stop it getting any further." Sephiroth replied. "Anything else?"

"No, Sir." Roy said. He glanced at Cloud, but the blond boy definitely did not look like he was about to ask any questions. It looked like if he tried to speak he would vomit.

"Very well, I'll come back to relieve you of your posts tonight." Sephiroth said, turning and walking off, quickly disappearing behind a building.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Roy said comfortingly to Cloud. "You wanna be a SOLDIER, don't you? This is training for it."

Cloud squared his shoulders, nodded, and walked past the workers to scramble over the lowest part of the wall, standing on the other side. He glanced back at Roy once before focusing his eyes outside to search for any signs of monsters.

Roy began slowly pacing past where the wall was crumbling, his ears straining to hear every sound and his eyes taking in everything he could see. He made sure to keep a constant watch on the gap to see if Cloud had spotted anything, but also allowed himself to look around at the other buildings occasionally.

His mind wandered to Sephiroth and he wondered what the General could be doing here in Kalm that was so important it required him to do it. Was he getting information? Or searching for someone?

The whole day went smoothly, but it left Roy and Cloud grumpy when Sephiroth came to retrieve them just as darkness was beginning to fall. He left them at the inn, but when they asked why he was leaving again he asked them if they honestly expected the wall to be left unguarded during the night.

"Great, what now?" Cloud grumbled.

"I guess we try and sleep?" Roy shrugged, looking over at the two beds in the room. They didn't look comfortable at all and the two infantrymen weren't too eager to get into them.

"I still wish we knew what Sephiroth was doing here." Cloud said, yanking his boots off and then wiggling his toes.

"I doubt he's about to tell us and I don't really have any suggestions of how we can find out, sorry." Roy sighed. "I don't think we're supposed to know, seeing as Lazard specifically briefed him before we got there."

"It sucks." Cloud grumbled, a cute frown creasing his face.

"Anyway, no matter how horrible it is I'm gonna try and sleep." Roy said bravely, heading over to one of the beds, yanking off his own boots, taking off his gun-belt and dumping it all with his bag before lying down.

"What's it like?" Cloud asked cautiously, slowly moving over to the other bed and looking down at it as if it was a bit of muck.

"Not too bad, but ShinRa obviously don't care about our comfort." Roy replied, shifting around to try and find a comfortable bit of mattress he could lie on. "I bet Sephiroth's room is better than this."

"Wanna go see? The doors aren't locked and he's guarding the wall." Cloud said, a twinkle in his eye as he glanced over at Roy.

"If we get busted I'm blaming you." Roy said with a chuckle, but gladly sat back up and pulled his boots back on, walking with Cloud out the door of their room to the room they had seen Sephiroth enter briefly before when he had been about to leave again.

Cloud glanced around before grabbing the door handle. Roy moved closer to him, eager to see inside the room, when Cloud groaned and backed away from the door.

"What?" Roy asked, frowning at him.

"It's locked! Sephiroth gets a locked room!" he whined, sighing loudly and trudging back to their room. Roy couldn't help but let out a small laugh. It was typical. Of course the 1st Class SOLDIER would get a locked room.

The two boys got into their beds again, shifting awkwardly for a while until they finally drifted off to sleep. Cloud's angry mumbling died off as he sunk into a deep sleep and Roy dreamt of Sephiroth's head being eaten by a monster while he guarded the wall.

When the morning came, they were both mercilessly woken up by Sephiroth.

"There's breakfast downstairs." Sephiroth informed them as he headed back to the door. "Then you'll be needed out at the wall. I'm sure you can find your way there by yourself this time?"

"Yes, Sir." Roy and Cloud mumbled at the same time. Sephiroth disappeared outside then and Roy flopped back against his hard pillow again.

"This sucks."

"Majorly." Cloud groaned, rolling out of bed and fumbling to pull on his boots. Roy yawned before forcing himself to get up again as well and then the two of them went together to eat breakfast before heading out to the wall.

"It's a waste of time," Roy muttered quietly to Cloud as they reached the wall. "I bet the monsters will only attack at night, so Sephiroth'll be able to take care of them anyway."

"But if we assumed that and then a monster attacked during the day we'd look pretty silly, wouldn't we?" Cloud asked, turning to Roy and shrugging before climbing through the now slightly smaller hole and standing on the other side.

"Uh, Cloud?" Roy said, glancing around at the workers before moving close to the hole again.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"You should come back through. Otherwise by the time Sephiroth comes for us the hole will be too small to get back through." Roy explained.

"But Sephiroth said I had to-"

"Maybe this is a test? He could be trying to see whether we're smart enough to realise this." Roy replied quickly, cutting Cloud off. "Just come back through before you're forced to walk all the way around to the gate by yourself."

"Oh, fine." Cloud sighed, pulling himself back through and standing with Roy. The workers continued to go on with their job as if they weren't even there and they stayed silent as they looked as closely as they could through the gap in the wall to see if there were any monsters approaching.

By the time lunch came around, the hole was only double the size of Roy's head. Sephiroth was on time and handed them some food which was much better than the lunch they had gotten yesterday and then told them they could go back and wait at the inn. He didn't mention anything about finding Cloud on the inside with Roy instead of on the outside.

"The hole should be gone by tonight so I'll call and have a helicopter pick us up then." Sephiroth told them right before they left again.

Back in their room, Cloud turned to Roy. "Halfway through the second day and it's almost done! We didn't even do anything."

"Yeah, I'm actually beginning to think Davis and Rex _are_ having more fun than we are." Roy agreed sadly, making sure all his things were together.

"If we knew what Sephiroth was doing here maybe things would be different, but because we're only stupid grunts we don't get to know anything." Cloud grumbled.

"Look on the bright side," Roy said. "One day we'll be SOLDIERs and get great mission and _locked doors_." Cloud laughed at that and Roy grinned, glad that he had been able to lighten his friends mood slightly.

Just as the afternoon was coming to an end the sound of fighting reached their ears and they met each others eyes with a look of shock. Was Sephiroth fighting a monster?

"We shouldn't-" Cloud started but Roy had already gotten to the door, peering out of it and waving for Cloud to follow.

"It sounds too loud to be just a monster. Sephiroth would finish off something like that in no time at all. This has to be something else – maybe connected to what he's doing here that we weren't told?" Roy said quietly, shrugging slightly as they crept out of the building and went in the direction of the noise.

It didn't take too long for them to find it. Sephiroth was engaged in a battle with three men all dressed in what looked like foreign solider uniforms.

"Are they-" Cloud whispered.

"Wutai soldiers." Roy nodded slowly.

In the next second, the three Wutai soldiers fell to the ground and lay still. Sephiroth dusted his hands off as if he had just done nothing which required an effort of any sort and turned back to face the wall, boredom clearly shown in his stance.

"Why were Wutai soldiers _here_?" Cloud asked.

"They're..." Roy couldn't stop staring at the three bodies. He knew they were dead and even while Sephiroth was fighting he had known they would end up dead, but for some reason he felt ill looking at them.

"Roy? Are you okay? Maybe we should go back to the inn-"

"Have you ever seen anything like that before?" Roy asked, turning to face Cloud. His face showed the horror he was feeling and Cloud looked down.

"Yeah," he mumbled, grabbing Roy's arm and dragging him back in the direction of the inn. "I watched my dad die when I was young."


	13. Chapter 13

Cloud and Roy spent the rest of the day in their room, studying the theory for some of their classes in order to be well prepared for their classes the next day. They were also staying in their room and not going out because the other infantrymen had already practically attacked them to try and get information of their mission.

To say the least, it had been a terrifying experience – for _Cloud_, ahem – and they had decided it would be best not to go out of their room again for the rest of the day, just to be safe.

But after a while it got boring, and at times awkward when Cloud would glance over with a look on his face that plainly said he was thinking about his friends relationship with Davis. Roy was annoyed that Cloud hadn't just forgotten about it all after the mission, but he supposed he (and Davis) would just have to deal with the consequences – whatever happened.

Despite their hiding of that day, however, the next day they had to go back to classes like normal and everyone was still dying to talk to them. Plus, they were without Davis and Rex to protect them.

"Hey, hey, hey!" one of the other infantryman called out, running over to them. His name was Jinx and he had a bright green Mohawk. Obviously he intimidated Cloud a bit as he approached because the blond backed up.

"Did you want something?" Roy asked, inconspicuously stepping slightly in front of Cloud.

"How'd your mission go? What did you have to do? Was it awesome or was it as crap as everyone else says it was? Apparently being a Turk is sounding much more exciting right now." Jinx explained. Wow, he sure did say a lot.

"How on earth has anyone heard about how it's gone? We haven't said anything." Roy said defensively.

"Apparently someone got all the information from another SOLDIER yesterday because they had to work with one." Jinx shrugged. "But was it awesome or not?"

"Um, we... had a face-off with Wutai soldiers and were almost killed." Roy said, quickly doing his best to make it sound much more dangerous than it had been. He moved over a bit more to hide Cloud completely from Jinx, as he was positive the blond would be frowning in an obvious way.

"Are you serious? That's awesome!" Jinx grinned. "Did you get to shoot them?"

"No, it totally sucked! Sephiroth wouldn't let us do anything and just shoved us back before taking them out himself. We were doing fine!" Roy lied.

"Roy..." Cloud said quietly.

"You're right Cloud, we need to get to class. We'll talk to you later, Jinx!" Roy grinned, grabbed Cloud's arm and then hurriedly escaped.

"Why did you lie?" Cloud asked once they were out of ear shot.

"I don't want everyone knowing we spent our time guarding a _wall_." Roy replied with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, this way when Davis and Rex get back we'll have a story which actually might stand beside theirs."

Cloud sighed and didn't say anything else, for which Roy was grateful. He didn't need Cloud getting upset with him for this now.

* * *

When Davis and Rex got back that night, Roy could not have been happier. He practically bounced over to them, a huge grin plastered to his face as he stood in front of them, successfully keeping them stuck in the doorway to their room.

"You're back!" Roy exclaimed.

"You will never _believe_ what we have to tell you-" Rex began, but stopped abruptly when Roy hugged Davis suddenly.

"Um, Roy?" Davis squeaked. "Now isn't the best time..."

"So you _are_ going out!" Rex accused.

"No!" Roy said, suddenly pushing back and staring wide-eyed at Rex. "What gave you that idea? Can't I hug my friend? Or maybe... you're jealous!" Roy laughed evilly and hugged Rex as well then, refusing to let go until Rex finally managed to push him off.

"You need help." Rex sighed, walking over to his bed and dropping his stuff.

"Do not!" Roy protested.

"Do _too_." Davis agreed, entering the room and also going over to his bed.

"Why were you so thrilled to see us anyway?" Rex asked as he sat down and pulled his boots off, shoving them under his bed.

"You have no idea how crazy it's been." Roy said, shaking his head. "Cloud, tell them how crazy it's been."

Cloud looked up from where he had been quietly sitting on his bed and blinked innocently. "Uh, not very."

"It's been _incredibly_ crazy!" Roy said, flinging his hands up. "Everyone wanted to know how our mission went and wouldn't leave us alone until we told them. Then they _still_ wouldn't leave us alone because apparently we hadn't given them all the details. But now you're back they'll leave us alone and attack _you_!"

"Good! 'Cause I can't wait to tell everyone that I flirted with a Turk." Rex grinned.

"Would you shut up?" Davis asked, before turning to Roy with an exasperated expression. "He hasn't shut up about her since he first set eyes on her and realised she was coming with us. But he refuses to listen to me when I tell him she's _taken_."

"Who by? I highly doubt Turks and SOLDIERs would be allowed to go out." Rex scoffed.

"Well then, there's no hope for you, is there?" Roy teased.

"You really think I'll make it to SOLDIER?" Rex asked suddenly, pausing in what he was doing to look up at his friend.

"Of course!" Roy said with a slight frown.

Rex was quiet for a moment then and just continued dealing with his stuff, so there was a brief awkward silence in the room.

"How was your mission then? What did you do other than stare at a girl?" Roy asked finally.

"We got to fight some monsters, but it really wasn't that interesting. You guys probably had way more fun than we did." Davis shrugged.

"They so did _not_." Rex chuckled to himself.

"What was that?" Roy asked, stepping towards him.

"I said you did _not_ have more fun than us." Rex repeated, looking up at Roy and smirking. "Our mission was way better."

"How do you know? We haven't even told you ours yet!" Roy folded his arms.

"You don't have to," Rex said, standing up and moving to shut the door before turning back to them. "I overheard Genesis Rhapsodos talking on the phone to Sephiroth and he said you were just guarding a wall."

If crickets had started chirping right then, they wouldn't have been out of place.

"Well, that's not all of it!" Roy said quickly, trying to save his and Cloud's dignity – although he was fairly certain Cloud didn't even care anyway. "There were Wutai SOLDIERs too!"

"Oh, don't be stupid. Just accept that all you got to do was stand around all day and do nothing." Rex laughed. "Besides, you _did_ get back before us."

"A whole day before, in fact," Cloud piped up. "We got back yesterday."

Rex grinned and turned away to hide it from Roy, but Roy had already seen. With a loud sigh, he grabbed Davis' arm and dragged him to the door.

"C'mon, I want to talk to you." he said.

"About your sister?" Rex asked cheekily.

"Someone punch his lights out!" Roy groaned as the door shut behind him and Davis.

"You _must_ have only guarded a wall," Davis commented quietly as they walked down the corridor. "I mean, otherwise you wouldn't be so grouchy."

"How was I to know that going with Sephiroth meant we did less work?" Roy sighed. "Although it does make sense. I don't even see why we had to go with him anyway. He could've done it without us."

"Don't worry about it," Davis grinned, slinging an arm over Roy's shoulders. "But uh... you need to try being a little more subtle okay? Otherwise Rex and Cloud are gonna think I'm gay since you won't let me tell them you're actually a girl."

Kayli smiled in amusement and said, "Cloud already does."

"Think I'm gay?" Davis asked in horror.

"Yeah, he guessed that we're going out. Actually, all he asked me was why I didn't want anyone to know." Kayli shrugged.

"What did you say to him!?" Davis exclaimed, stepping away from Kayli and staring at her.

"Um. I asked where he got the idea that we were going out. At least, I said _something_ along those lines. Don't worry, I pretended I didn't know what he was talking about." Kayli reassured him, but Davis wasn't very convinced and turned away from her with a loud sigh.

"If word gets back to Rex-"

"Davis, I really don't think you should be worrying about Rex. He's already made it his life goal to make our lives miserable." Kayli pointed out.

"He's just joking around." Davis shrugged.

"Exactly!" Kayli agreed.

They started walking again then and had just rounded a corner when they saw a flash of green and Roy yelled in terror, dashing behind Davis in an instant.

"You're back!" the owner of the flash of green said excitedly, talking to Davis.

"Uh, yeah, I am." Davis nodded. "I don't think we've been introduced before?"

"Sorry, my names Jinx." The green-haired boy stuck his hand out and Davis shook it firmly. "So how was your mission?"

"Fine. Yeah, fine." Davis said before frowning and glancing over his shoulder to look at Roy, who ducked.

"So what did you have to do?" Jinx asked, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Davis half expected to see his Mohawk start flopping around, but it was too short to do that and he quickly focused on the boys face again.

"Occasionally fought some monsters, but Rex drooled over the female Turk that went with us. Honestly, he couldn't keep his eyes off her for two seconds!" Davis said, easily slipping into the comfortable conversation.

"Really? A Turk went with you? They're apparently _really_ awesome!" Jinx said, smirking in such a way that gave off the feeling that he knew something he wasn't letting on.

"Yeah, she was pretty cool." Davis shrugged.

"If you ask me, I'd rather be a Turk than a SOLDIER." Jinx said, folding his arms and raising his eyes in a superior way.

"Why on earth would you rather that?" Roy suddenly exclaimed, stepping out from behind Davis to stare at Jinx like he'd grown another head.

"Simple, really," Jinx said flippantly. "Turks get the fun jobs."

"Like what? And didn't you hear? On Davis' mission a Turk and SOLDIER went together, so obviously their missions can't be _too_ different." Roy argued.

"Ah, but you see, I have inside information." Jinx said in a mysterious whisper.

"Oh, yeah? Feel like sharing?" Davis asked with a grin.

"No way! My sources need their identities kept secret or they could be kicked out of ShinRa for _good_!" Jinx said defensively.

"Like I'll believe _that_." Davis laughed. "I bet you don't know any more than any of us."

"I do! I'm just not allowed to tell!" Jinx said stubbornly, pouting now.

"Come on," Roy said, tugging on Davis arm again. "This is a waste of time."

They turned and started walking the other way again, with Roy being very determined to get away from Jinx – the initiator of the attacks from everyone else, trying to get information about their mission.

"Fine."

Davis smiled and glanced at Roy, feeling smug about something. Probably the fact that Jinx had caved and decided to tell them his secret. At least, that's what Roy thought Jinx meant when he said 'fine'.

"Fine, what?" Davis asked teasingly.

"Fine I'll tell you. My cousin is a Turk and I get all my information from him." Jinx said with a sigh.

"Oh, so you're bias. Perfectly understandable then." Davis turned around to face him, still smiling.

"Whatever. Do you believe me now? You _have_ to believe me." Jinx said. He had started bouncing on the balls of his feet again but it was only slight, so Roy guessed he must be doing it without even realising.

"What's his name?" Davis asked, folding his arms and thinking he'd have the boy now. If he hesitated before saying a name it meant he'd made it up on the spot.

"Reno." Jinx said instantly.

"Who's Reno?" Roy asked.

"He's my cousin!" Jinx said, exasperated. His bouncing increased to go along with his increasing frustration and Roy was actually amused by it for a few moments.

"I bet you made him up," Davis said. "Can you take us to meet him?"

"Uh, sure, but he's not very friendly to strangers." Jinx said slowly and warningly, his bouncing slowing down as well. Roy let out a giggle.

"Ah, ha ha!" Davis said loudly, looking over at Roy and giving him a look that plainly said what-are-you-doing-!?

"That wasn't funny." Jinx said bluntly.

"Yeah, I know. Roy's weird, that's all." Davis said, patting Roy on the back and trying not to snigger at the fact that his face was going bright red.

"Right..." Jinx said slowly. "Anyway, follow me and I'll lead you to my wonderful cousin."

Jinx spun around on the spot and began walking off, the bounce very evident in each of his steps. Roy shook his head in amusement before following with Davis walking along beside him.

They wandered through most of the building, so much in fact that Davis and Roy were certain Jinx had no idea where he was going, until finally he managed to lead them to the Turk level of the ShinRa building and grinned in triumph.

"Alright, just through here." he said, walking straight past some important looking Turks and going through a threatening-looking door.

"I don't trust it." Roy whispered.

"If we don't follow these people will probably kill us." Davis whispered back, gripping Roy's arm and practically dragging him after Jinx through the door.

What they were met with was quite an interesting scene. Jinx was being pressed up against a wall and had an Electro-Mag Rod held to his throat, whilst a Turk with bright red hair pulled back into a ponytail held him there with an incredibly angry expression on his face.

"I told you to quit following me around, yo!" the red-head yelled.

"They wanted to meet you!" Jinx replied meekly.

"Well I don't want to meet them! So get them out of here before I set my boss on all three of you, yo! Wouldn't want that, now, would you?" the red-head said, moving his eyebrows up and down quickly intimidatingly.

"Alright, we'll go!" Jinx whined, squirming to get free.

"I don't trust you, yo." the red-head murmured, narrowing his eyebrows then.

A door to the side of the room opened suddenly and Davis and Roy glanced over to see a dark-skinned man walk in and quickly assess the situation with his eyes before pulling the red-head away from Jinx by the ponytail.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" the red-head exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "Let go, Rude!"

"I had to stop you from hurting the Infantryman." the man called Rude said in a calm voice, letting go of the red-head's ponytail.

"Well, you stopped me! Congrats, yo!" the red-head snapped angrily, massaging his head.

"_That's _your cousin?" Davis asked, not being able to restrain himself. The red-head, Rude and Jinx all looked over at him.

"What?" the red-head, who Davis and Roy assumed was Reno, burst out.

"I told you he wasn't friendly to strangers!" Jinx said with an exaggerated shrug.

"You- you-" Reno's eyes were wide as he stared at Jinx in disbelief. "You told them I was your cousin?"

"What else was I supposed to say?" Jinx asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Maybe that you're an obsessed little kid who has been _stalking_ me, yo?" Reno suggested sarcastically.

"I haven't been stalking you!" Jinx protested.

"Oh, of course not, yo. Following people around everywhere and finding out everything about them is _not_ stalking. How silly of me, yo." Reno scoffed.

Jinx frowned but didn't say anything in reply to that outburst, choosing wisely to remain silent instead. Rude let out a sigh and folded his arms.

"You three should get back before someone gets you in trouble." he said.

"Let them get in trouble, I say!" Reno snapped. "This little twerp deserves it, and no doubt the other two do as well since they followed him-" Reno stopped as his eyes had wandered over to Davis and Roy as he spoke and he now stared silently at Roy.

"Uh, yeah, we really should go." Roy said, shifting awkwardly. As soon as he spoke, however, Reno's eyebrows shot up high. Roy felt like he was being studied and desperately wanted to get out of there quickly.

"You're-" Reno began, but Davis somehow managed to click in to what was happening and clapped his hands together.

"Right! We need to go!" he said loudly, turning and quickly heading for the door, pulling Roy with him.

Unfortunately, Reno had excellent reflexes and flung himself in-between them and the door, narrowing his eyes and holding his Electro-Mag Rod up threateningly.

"What's your name, grunt?" he demanded, his eyes boring into Roy's.

"R-Roy Peters." Roy squeaked out.

"Ha, what a laugh," Reno said. "What's your _real_ name, yo?"

Roy's eyes widened and he glanced over at Davis in panic, wondering what he was going to do now that he had been found out.

"Um, you must be thinking about me," Davis piped up. "See, most people at ShinRa think my name is Taylor Davis, but I'm actually Davis Taison."

Reno looked over at him and tilted his head slightly. "You gave ShinRa a false name? No wonder you're both hanging out together."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Roy said suddenly and firmly. "But we need to get back, so if you'll excuse us." He then slipped past the red-head and managed to pull Davis along as well, disappearing through the door and heading to the elevator.

"Why do I get the feeling he knew immediately that you were a girl?" Davis asked quietly as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.

"Because he did. I don't know how, but he knew and he was prepared to tell everyone." Roy said. "I think we should tell Sephiroth."

"_You_ can tell Sephiroth!" Davis said with a chuckle. "I'm not gonna risk getting yelled at for being out so late."

"Alright, fine, but I really don't think he'll yell at me." Roy shrugged.

"What makes you think he'll even care if someone else knows about you?" Davis asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, but I have to _try_." Roy stressed.

They were quiet for the rest of the elevator ride and Davis said goodbye to Roy as he left at the SOLDIER floor, going on his way to find General Sephiroth so that he could tell him about the incident that had just occurred.

Having been there quite a few times already, Roy had no trouble finding his way to the General's office and was soon knocking confidently on the door.

"Come in," came the General's voice and Roy did so, standing at attention once inside.

"Sir, I have something I wish to discuss with you." he said, short and to the point.

"You have my permission to explain." Sephiroth said, folding his arms on his desk and waiting patiently.

"Sir, I am almost certain that a Turk by the name of Reno knows of my true identity." Roy said swiftly, knowing not to skip around the subject because it would most probably make Sephiroth angry.

"Almost certain?" Sephiroth asked.

"He didn't actually say it, but he asked my name and asked for my real name when I said Roy Peters. He looked shocked to see me, as well." Roy explained quickly.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sephiroth asked, leaning back in his chair.

Swallowing, Roy said, "I was wondering if you might be able to speak to him about it to make sure he doesn't tell anyone. I understand you have every right to refuse."

Sephiroth's mouth twitched and he leant forward again. "Luckily for you, I enjoy seeing how this plays out. If everyone finds out, where will be the fun in that? I'll talk to him, but I may have to alert a few other people to your identity as well. They will be sworn to secrecy."

"Thank you, Sir," Roy said, letting out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. "I am _really_ thankful."

"You should get back to your room." Sephiroth said, shifting his attention away from the Infantryman and shutting off the conversation just like that. He reached for some papers and began reading through them, appearing completely absorbed in what he was doing.

Roy saluted and then turned and left the room, already out of earshot when Sephiroth put the papers down and reached for the phone.

"I'd like to speak to Zack Fair."


	14. Chapter 14

Roy swung the practice sword at Davis, a clang resounding as Davis brought his own practice sword up to defend himself. Then Davis took a lunge, which Roy also deflected. The two had been fighting like this for the past twenty minutes, neither gaining the upper hand the entire time.

Unfortunately, the instructor had finally noticed. He came walking over to the two of them, grabbing Rex away from fighting who he had been with a moment ago and then standing in between Davis and Roy.

"Whoa!" Roy said, quickly pulling his sword back from a slash he had been about to execute.

"Davis, you're to fight Rance." the instructor ordered, letting go of Rex, who shrugged helplessly at Davis.

"Uh, sure." Davis said with a frown, glancing at Roy before moving over to Rex.

"And Peters, I want you to-"

"Roooooooooooooooooooooooy!"

Roy closed his eyes in a wince, wishing that he hadn't just heard Zack's voice yelling out his name. He had thought he'd finally managed to make Zack bored of hanging around him, but now he'd decided to come during a class!

"Wait here and don't move, Peters." Roy's instructor said gruffly before walking over to the door where Zack was just walking in.

"How do you know Zack Fair?" Rex hissed, moving discreetly to Roy's side.

"I don't really know." Roy replied with a small shrug.

"Excuse me," the instructor said as he stopped in front of Zack. "We're in the middle of something. If it could wait..."

"It can't! Sephiroth sent me!" Zack exclaimed.

Roy inwardly groaned. He should have known Sephiroth would tell Zack about who he really was. But did that mean Zack knew Reno well enough to tell him not to tell anyone and have him listen?

The instructor grumbled something and shrugged, gesturing for Zack to move off. He needed no further encouragement and was over by Roy's side in an instant. He looked beyond excited and dragged Roy over to the side of the room where they could talk before lowering his voice.

"So, _Kayli_," he murmured with a grin. "This is so cool! I can't believe you actually made me think you were a guy! Seriously, you do look the part though."

"It took a while to get it like this." Kayli admitted softly. She glanced over to where Davis and Rex had gone back to fighting and hoped Rex didn't decide to start asking questions again. It was bad enough that Zack had found out now as well.

"Ha, that is _so_ awesome." Zack shook his head. "Oh! Anyway, Sephiroth said you're going on another mission and this time it's with me. See, he needs to get you out of the way while he explains things to some other people and this was the best way. We leave in two hours. Better go get your stuff!"

Kayli's eyes widened impossibly as she stared at Zack. She was going on another mission in two hours? That was insane!

"You're joking!" she said. "I only just back from another!"

"Yeah, well," Zack shrugged and scratched his head. "I don't give the orders."

Kayli groaned but nodded in submission.

Zack grinned and walked over to the instructor again, explaining the situation as Kayli began making her way towards the door.

Davis grabbed her arm before she could get very far and she spun to look at him.

"What's happening?" Davis asked with a frown.

"I'm going on a mission," Roy said. "I don't have a clue what it's about but apparently they needed someone quickly and just randomly picked someone who'd gone on a mission already."

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Rex said, appearing behind Davis. "You're so lucky!"

"I am so jealous." Davis groaned. "At this rate you'll become a SOLDIER before any of us do."

"No way." Roy shook his head firmly. "You're all better than me, you'll do better in the exams I bet."

"Oh whatever, just get lost before you're reported Missing In Action." Davis laughed, shoving Roy in the shoulder to make him walk off.

Meeting Zack just outside the door, the two of them then began making their way to Roy's room in order for him to get packed as fast as he could. He still couldn't quite believe that he was going to be leaving for another mission so soon after the last one.

"Don't take too long or I'll get in trouble for delaying even thought it's not my fault. I'm _always_ the one who gets the blame." Zack said as Roy walked into his room, nodding to what was said.

Grabbing his pack, he took some things out and shoved other things in, making sure he had everything he would need and then also snatching up his helmet on his way out.

"Awesome, that was fast." Zack said as Roy walked out. "I thought girls were meant to take ages in getting themselves ready."

"I usually do, but I've also learnt really well how to be a guy." Roy said with a laugh. "It helps when I have to get ready on time with all the other grunts. That way no one asks questions about why I took so long."

"You're an inspiration. Do you think I'd be able to get into a party dressed as a girl?" Zack asked.

"I like you better as a guy. Please don't dress up as a girl." Roy said pleadingly. Zack laughed and walked off, shaking his head. Roy quickly ran after him.

"So if we're leaving in two hours..."

"We have to go for a quick check up." Zack said. "You know, just to make sure we're in good enough health to set out on the mission."

"Oh, okay. Who does that sort of thing? Hojo?" Roy asked curiously. Zack turned and looked at him with a frown.

"How do you know about Hojo? Honestly, when I first joined ShinRa I didn't know a thing about anything." Zack sighed. "But yeah, I think it'll be Hojo. He's the best thing we have to an actual doctor and seeing as this is an important mission we get treatment from the best."

"Do you know anything about Edvard Frederikson?" Roy asked.

"Who?"

"He was a grunt until Hojo took him on as an apprentice." Roy explained.

"Oh. Never heard of him. But maybe we'll see him! Seeing as we're going to be seeing Hojo, I assume he'll have his apprentice around." Zack stretched his arms above his head and yawned.

"Cool," Roy said with a small smile. "I haven't seen him in a while and it will be interesting to see how he's doing."

"You got your eye on anyone here at ShinRa? I mean you're a girl... so do you like anyone?" Zack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Kayli laughed.

"Kind of." she said vaguely.

"Well? Who!?" Zack exclaimed, apparently dying to know.

They reached the elevator and got inside before Kayli decided to speak again.

"Davis Taison." she said nervously.

"Who on earth is that? I didn't know there were two people with Davis in their name." Zack frowned as he tried to recall a Davis Taison.

"Oh, I forgot," Kayli said. "I thought you'd know since Sephiroth came and got him in trouble for it, but anyway, Davis lied and said his name was Taylor Davis but it's actually Davis Taison."

Zack slowly nodded as he realised how that worked.

"So you both gave false names, I see." Zack grinned. "You're perfect for each other. Does he know you're a girl or does he just think you're gay?"

"Hey!" Kayli shoved him. "As a matter of fact, he did think I was gay at first. But now he knows I'm a girl because Sephiroth told him."

"Sheesh, how long has Sephiroth known?" Zack asked in amazement.

"I honestly don't know, but I think it may have been ever since my first swimming lesson." Kayli sighed.

"Do you know why he's helping you and not being his usual jerk-self and getting you kicked out?" Zack asked.

"No idea. But whatever it is that's made him decide he's going to keep my identity a secret is a good thing." Kayli replied. The elevator reached the desired level and Zack stepped out first before walking off down a corridor with Kayli in tow close behind.

Reaching a small waiting room of some sort, Zack told Roy to wait as he moved to speak to the receptionist.

Sitting on a chair patiently, Roy waited as things were sorted out. Before Zack returned to him a door opened and a man with a dark, long ponytail emerged. He was wearing a white coat and had glasses perched on his nose as well as a deep scowl on his face that seemed permanent.

What got Roy's attention and made him stand up was the fact that Edvard was trailing behind him, also wearing a white coat now. He was also holding a clipboard under his arm and in contrast to Hojo, seemed to glow with happiness even though he wasn't smiling.

"Ah! Come on Roy, it's time for our check up!" Zack said happily, practically skipping past Hojo and the smaller boy into the room. Roy slowly walked in after him, feeling nervous. He wanted to say something to Edvard, but with Hojo standing so close he only felt comfortable giving a small smile as he walked past.

Once inside, he and Zack waited for Hojo to come back in and tell them what to do.

The first thing Hojo did as he re-entered the room was head straight to his computer and type something on the keyboard. He seemed to be double checking some information and once he was done, he gave a small grunt and then turned to face them.

Edvard was standing in the background, watching.

"Something came to my attention recently," Hojo said in his peculiar voice, looking straight at Roy to show who he was talking to. "You have two X chromosomes."

Roy tried to ignore the weird look Edvard was giving him from the side of the room and tried to keep his attention on Hojo, who looked like he was waiting for an answer of some sort.

Zack snorted.

"Is that a problem?" Roy asked finally, only succeeding in making Zack's amusement increase so the SOLDIER had to hold a hand over his mouth to try not to laugh out loud.

"It could be a problem, yes." Hojo said, ignoring Zack for the time being.

Zack, not wanting to be ignored, spoke up. "Sephiroth knows all about it and he doesn't care."

Hojo looked over at him, a slight frown on his face. "Does Director Lazard know?"

"I don't think so." Roy said.

"Should I tell him?" Hojo asked, slowly moving over to the phone on the wall. His hand hovered above it and a sadistic smirk appeared on his face at the fear in Roy's eyes.

The door suddenly burst open, which Roy thanked for happening at just the right time. But when he turned to see who was in the doorway, he's eyebrows shot up.

Sephiroth stood in the doorway, leaning his weight against the door frame and looking utterly exhausted.

"Hojo," he said gruffly. "Let them go and keep your mouth shut."

"I haven't even checked them over yet-" Hojo began to protest, but Sephiroth held up a hand before walking further into the room, looking dead on his feet. Roy wondered whether he'd been asleep, but couldn't think of a reason why he would have gotten up just to do this.

"Zack," Sephiroth addressed him. "Leave right away. No complaints."

Zack looked like he was going to burst from wanting to ask why they were being told to leave, but after a few more moments of staring at his superior, he gave in and nodded.

"Come on, Roy." he said, putting a hand on Roy's shoulder and guiding him out of the room.

As they left, Roy turned around to see what was happening. He caught a glimpse of Sephiroth sitting down on one of the seats in the room and frowned, straining his ears. All he heard was, "don't care … like, a voice?" before he and Zack were too far away to hear anything else.

"What was all that about?" Roy asked as the headed back to the elevator.

Zack sighed and glanced down at Roy before looking back up, wondering whether he should tell the Infantryman or not. "It's... well I'm not even sure of the details myself."

Roy entered the elevator silently and waited as Zack got in after him before pressing the right button and leaning against the wall.

"He's like, the best SOLDIER ever, right?" Zack said. Roy nodded. "Well, sometimes I think it all just gets to him. Don't spread this around, okay?"

"I won't, I promise." Roy said.

"Well, anyway, seeing as we're leaving right away instead of in two hours, I guess I should let you know where it is we're going." Zack said, a small grin appearing on his face now. Not knowing why, Roy became worried.

"Why are you smiling like that?" he asked as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, allowing them to step out.

"Like what?" Zack asked, but his smile got bigger.

"Like _that_! Where are we going?" Roy asked, itching to find out. What on earth was going on and why was Zack acting so weird?

Zack laughed as they walked out to their transportation which would take them to wherever they were going. "I don't think I should tell you."

"Why _not_?" Roy whined.

"Because this is way more fun! And besides, if I say it out loud I'll jinx it and Sephiroth will appear out of nowhere to tell me he was just joking." Zack shook his head with another sigh, but the smile would not leave his face.

"Zack if you don't tell me soon I'll- I'll-"

"You'll what? Attack me with hair products?" Zack laughed, making a joke about Roy's – well, Kayli's – gender.

"That's not fair." Roy said with a pout, folding his arms. "I don't even use hair products. Take a look in the mirror, for goodness sake. I don't know _anyone_ who's hair does that naturally." Roy sighed and then frowned, before saying, "Well, except Cloud."

Zack chuckled and shook his head, shoving Roy forward towards the helicopter they would be taking. "Just get in and I'll tell you on the way."

"No you won't. You'll wait until I can see a sign for it." Roy grumbled.

"Hey! Mind reader!" Zack gasped, pushing past Roy and jumping into the helicopter. Roy rolled his eyes and smiled, slowly following.

"Please tell me? I'll ask the pilot if you don't." Roy said as they found their seats and got buckled in.

"But I don't want to jinx it!" Zack complained. Roy smiled at the thought of Jinx, who was the one that had brought him to Reno in the first place, landing him eventually in this position because of his request to Sephiroth.

"How long is it gonna take to get there, then," Roy spoke up again. "Can you at least tell me that?"

"Too long!" Zack said. "I wish we could just click our fingers and be there."

"Yeah, well, I might agree with you if I knew where we were going!" Roy groaned. Was Zack seriously going to keep on like this until they got there?

"Fine, but if I tell you..." Zack said quietly. "Promise you won't scream?"

"Of course I won't scream!" Roy said, folding his arms.

"Alright, alright," Zack said with a small nod. "Here goes."

Roy waited, but Zack had shut his mouth again and was grinning like an idiot.

"What are you waiting for?" Roy asked angrily.

"The helicopter to take off, that way Sephiroth won't be able to get in here and tell me he was joking when I say it." Zack explained.

Roy made a 'hmph' sound and sunk low in his seat, his eyes fixed out the window as he waited for them to lift off the ground so that Zack could finally tell him where they were going.

The propellers started up soon and then, to Roy's relief, they were off the ground. He was about to turn to Zack and demand for their destination when the SOLDIER spoke first.

"We're going to Costa del Sol."

"What? Why?" Roy asked immediately.

"Girls never run out of questions, do they?" Zack laughed, putting his hands behind his head.

"Is there something to do there? Have they been over-run by monsters or anything?" Roy asked with one eyebrow raised, ignoring Zack's second jibe at his gender.

"No, there's no real mission. It was a cover up." Zack said, sighing happily. "Sephiroth persuaded Lazard to let us have a holiday. No idea how he managed to get Lazard agree to having you come, but I'm not complaining! I mean seriously, two days of nothing but the beach and hot chicks to stare at!"

"All this just to get me out of the way while he talks to some people about my real identity?" Roy asked quietly and in disbelief. "I don't understand him."

"No one really does. But come on! This is gonna be awesome!" Zack exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess. But I didn't join ShinRa so that I could be sent to a beach." Roy said, then quickly said, "Not that I don't want to go! I just wish I could spend more time training to be a SOLDIER."

"Well, you can do that at the beach..." Zack said, trailing off and shrugging.

"How exactly?" Roy asked.

"Oh, you know, I'm a SOLDIER... and we're going to be spending the next two days together, so," he shrugged a second time. "I could teach you some stuff if you want."

Roy's eyes widened in shock.

"What? Don't you want to be able to stare at girls all day?" Roy asked. Zack turned to look at him and wiggled his eyebrows.

"You're a girl, aren't you?"

"Zack, be serious for two seconds!" Roy groaned, hitting his head against the wall behind him.

To his shock, Zack actually did become serious. His entire face fell into an emotionless expression and he sat up straight, staring blankly ahead.

But just as fast as it had happened, it was gone again and Zack was laughing at Roy's face.

"Well you _told_ me to be serious!" he said between laughs.

"You need help." Roy said quietly, fighting a smile.

"Everyone who becomes a SOLDIER needs help, it comes with the job description." Zack laughed.

"I hope I don't turn out as bad as you." Roy teased.

"Oh, shut up." Zack said, finally managing to calm down a bit so that he wasn't laughing as much. "Alright, I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we arrive."

He then promptly rolled to the side, searching for a comfortable spot, before becoming still and silent, his breaths coming evenly.

Roy was tempted to poke him, but refrained. Who _knew_ what SOLDIERs did when woken up?

With a sigh, Roy leant his head back and tried to get some rest as well, wondering what things Zack would teach him the next day and what Sephiroth would be doing while they were gone.


	15. Chapter 15

Kayli stood on the beach, facing the ocean and staring with a peaceful expression on her face. The way the waves rolled in over and over again... it was incredibly relaxing. She probably could have fallen asleep standing up if she hadn't been attacked.

"Boo! Did I scare you? Huh? Did I?" Zack burst out, having just jabbed her in the sides before darting around to stand in front of her so that he could see her face. He was grinning stupidly and Kayli just rolled her eyes.

"I'm terrified." she said sarcastically. Yes, she had jumped when he had jabbed her, but who wouldn't?

"Woo! I rock!" Zack yelled, pounding the air with his fists before running off away from her to where ice cream was being sold.

With a sigh, Kayli sat down on the sand. Zack was actually fun to be around after a while and his happiness was contagious. It was also a relief not to have to pretend to be male any more, because Kayli felt like she hadn't been herself in ages.

"Kayli! Look!"

Turning around and leaning on one hand so she didn't fall to the side, Kayli used her other hand to shield her eyes as she looked for where Zack was. He was waving at her, holding two ice creams in his hand. They were already melting all over his hand and she laughed, standing up and quickly running over to help him.

"Why didn't you hold them separately in each hand?" she asked as he handed one to her before beginning to lick his hand clean.

"How was I supposed to wave at you if I did that?" Zack asked with a frown.

"Oh I don't know, I'm not the _SOLDIER_ here, am I?" Kayli teased with a laugh.

"You're nicer as a girl than you are as a guy." Zack commented out of the blue.

"Thanks, but please don't forget I'm taken by Davis." Kayli reminded him with a small smile. She knew Zack was only teasing, but hey, couldn't she tease too?

"If I ever forget, you have my permission to hit me across the back of the head." Zack said seriously. Then he grinned. "So where do you want to start with training?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." Kayli shrugged. "Anywhere is fine. I don't really know what you have in mind so..."

"Well since you're a girl we need to work on how you're going to be able to gain the upper hand." Zack said thoughtfully before licking his ice cream again.

Kayli raised an eyebrow as she realised half his ice cream was missing. Looking at the ground, she couldn't but smile. But if he hadn't noticed, she didn't have the heart to tell him.

"So are you cool with that?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine." Kayli nodded. "But won't it look weird to everyone that you're training a girl?"

"Do we care what others think? No! Do we shape our opinions of ourselves by what others think? No! Do we do whatever the heck we want whenever the heck we want and not care if people give us weird looks and call the authorities? Yes!"

"Zack, we are the authorities." Kayli frowned.

"Precisely! You sure do catch on quick." Zack grinned.

"Is Sephiroth actually your friend? Or do you pay him?" Kayli asked with a sigh, a grin on her face.

"He is my friend, you horrible little girl!" Zack said.

"It was just a joke!" Kayli laughed.

"Yes, I know, but still you- Whoa! Look!" Zack grabbed her arm and stared over her shoulder, his mouth wide in shock.

Shaking her head, Kayli turned to see what had caught his attention this time. There was a group of girls behind her holding a box of chips between them, all eating and talking happily together.

"What about them?" Kayli asked.

"Reckon they'll mind if I join their little group?" Zack asked.

"Yes." Kayli said truthfully. Zack's happy grin faltered and he looked like he was going to burst out crying for a moment before he grinned even wider.

"You can introduce me to them! Then they won't mind!" Zack said.

"But I don't even know them!" Kayli protested, eyes widening in horror. He could _not_ expect her to do that.

"That's not the point. The point is you're a _girl_ and _they_ are girls. Therefore they'll be friendly towards you and once they see I'm your friend they'll be friendly to me too. Please?" Zack let go of her arm so that he could clasp his hands together and give her his famous puppy-dog pleading face.

"Zack..." Kayli sighed. She glanced back at the group of girls again nervously. "I've been hanging around a bunch of sloppy, immature boys for the past who-knows-how-long. I'll probably only make a fool of myself and besides, I'm younger than them!"

"You're hurting me." Zack whined quietly.

"Maybe they won't mind if you just go over there by yourself! Pretend you... look! There's a necklace on the ground there. Ask if it belongs to one of them and then go on from there." Kayli said.

Zack's eyes fixed onto the discarded necklace lying on the ground and he was dead-still for a moment before darting into action. One second he had snatched it up and the next moment he was over beside the group of girls, already starting to ask if any of them owned it.

Laughing silently, Kayli walked back down the beach to where she had been sitting before. She had almost finished her ice cream and only took a few more moments to devour it, then going back to staring out at the ocean.

"Hey, is that you, Kayli?"

Jumping, Kayli spun around and quickly scrambled to her feet as she saw an incredibly familiar face that did not belong here in Costa del Sol. Not at all. Nu-uh.

Warning bells!

"Alec! Fancy seeing you here!" Kayli said with a fake laugh. She couldn't believe it. This was Alec Freshtone, Gemma's brother. He didn't know she was pretending to be a guy. Why was he in Costa del Sol!?

She was suddenly very thankful that she had left her wig in the bottom of her bag and was wearing it now, because it would have been a very awkward situation trying to explain to him why she had cut it.

"Gemma told me you were going to visit a cousin at ShinRa." Alec said, shoving his hands into his pockets and grinning.

"Oh! Did she? Cool!" she laughed again, more nervously than before. This was not going well.

"I didn't expect to run into you here, though. How did you get enough money to come here as well as Midgar?" he asked curiously.

"Um... actually my cousin is here as well. When I showed up he was given a short holiday and they paid for me too." Kayli lied.

"Short holiday? You've been gone for months." Alec frowned.

"Oh, well we didn't leave right away. I got to stay somewhere near ShinRa for a while but finally they decided to send us here." Kayli shut her mouth and hoped she was making sense. She didn't feel like she was making sense.

"Cool," Alec said, turning and scanning the area. "So where's your cousin?"

Kayli stared at him silently for a moment before saying, "Oh! Uh, somewhere. But I really have to go... Look! There's Zack! He's also from ShinRa. I'll go get him and he can find Roy for you if you want."

Not waiting for a reply from Alec, Kayli took off towards Zack and dragged him forcefully away from the group of girls who had, amazingly, taken quite a liking to him.

"Zack!" Kayli hissed quietly. "My best friends brother is here and he wants to meet Roy so I have to go get changed and take off my wig and you have to stall for time but I promise I will be ready in five minutes because I've done it before. Please, please just keep up the act! I'm Roy's cousin!"

Suddenly running off from him, she made her way as far as the inn they were staying at before slowing down. Rushing into her room, she almost threw her things all around the room as she dug for her make-up bag.

Pulling it out and dragging her wig off her head, she quickly began applying the 'Roy' face that Gemma had taught to her. She remembered just in time to change her clothes and pulled on some dirty ShinRa pants as well as a baggy shirt, which she had to take off again as she realised she had to bound her chest.

Holding in a scream, she wrapped the bandage around herself and then put on her shirt again, tearing out off the room and running straight back to the beach, hoping Zack had been able to make small talk.

Slowing to a walk, Roy tried to make himself look calm and natural as he strolled along. He did his best not to make it appear that he was trying to look for anyone and was thankful when Zack spotted him first.

"Roy! Get over here!"

Turning his head in fake curiosity, he began walking over.

"Whoa, you look so much like Kayli!" Alec exclaimed with a smile. "You could be twins or something, seriously!"

"Ha, we get that a lot." Roy laughed. "How do you know Kayli?"

"She's my sister's best friend actually. Do you know where she ran off to?" Alec asked, frowning and turning to look around at the rest of the beach again.

"Oh, she's always running off." Roy laughed, waving a hand as if it was no big deal. "She's uh... probably fixing her make-up again."

"Yeah! Boy, does she fix her make-up a lot." Zack piped up, grinning.

Roy shot him an unimpressed look.

"So, when did you join ShinRa?" Alec asked.

"Oh, a while ago." Roy shrugged. "A bit before Kayli first came to visit."

"What's it like? I've been thinking of joining... but do you think I'm too old? Apparently if you join older than fifteen you're seen as weird." Alec said, chuckling nervously.

"Uh-" Roy's brain froze up for a moment. Thinking about joining ShinRa, hm? What would be the nicest way to smash his dreams? "Actually they do think it's weird if you join older than fifteen. And seriously, it's a really tough place."

"Hm. So it'll even be weird if I'm only one year older? I'm sixteen." Alex explained.

"Hey! You're my age!" Zack said, adding in his two cents worth again. Or... two gil worth.

"I'm not sure, it's ultimately up to you." Roy said, wishing he could have said something else to ruin Alec's hope of joining ShinRa.

He had nothing against Alec. He just had everything against having to see Alec at ShinRa everyday and keep the act up even more than he already was having to.

"Well, do you think I might be able to catch a ride with you when you head back to ShinRa? Or am I not allowed because I'm not 'related'?" he grinned, apparently thinking that was funny.

Yeah, Kayli had never understood him in all her years of knowing him.

"Sure!" Zack said with a grin. "That way you can apply to ShinRa sooner and before you get any older!"

Roy began abruptly choking on air and had to turn around before he succeeded in composing himself and turned back around again.

"Sorry, I think I swallowed a bug. That's something they definitely don't teach you at ShinRa – how to keep away the insects." Roy said, smiling apologetically as Alec had raised an eyebrow at him.

"Actually they teach you that when you become a third class." Zack filled in for them.

"Right." Roy mumbled.

"So when do you leave to go back?" Alec asked.

"Tomorrow." Zack said with a firm nod. "But in the afternoon, late at night."

"Cool, and you're sure it'll be fine if I tag along?" Alec asked again, just to be sure. He didn't want to end up going with them if it would only end in getting yelled at by someone higher up in ShinRa.

"Absolutely positive. There is nothing wrong with-"

"Are there enough seats?" Roy asked suddenly. "I mean what with you, me and Kayli... I don't remember seeing another seat available."

"Nah, there are four seats." Zack said with a breezy wave of his hand.

Roy slowly nodded his head, faking a content smile as he bashed Zack up in his mind.

"Sweet." Alec said, smiling.

"What made you want to join ShinRa?" Zack asked.

"Not sure, really. I guess I've just always wanted to be able to help keep people safe and when I heard that Kayli's cousin had joined it inspired me even more." Alec explained with a small nod of his head.

_Great_, Roy thought to himself with a sigh,_ I inspired him to ruin my life_.

"Awesome! Well, I know for a fact that ShinRa is always wanting more people to join so I'm pretty sure they'll accept you with open arms." Zack said happily.

"My friends are probably wondering where I am so I should get back to them." Alec said, changing the subject. "Where can I meet you tomorrow, then?"

"You know the inn down the road?" Zack asked and Alex nodded. "Well you can meet us there. It's where we're staying."

"Cool, thanks so much. Hey, Roy?" Roy looked up as he heard his name and nodded, waiting to be spoken to. "Could you tell Kayli thanks from me?"

"Sure. I will." Roy nodded. "But what for?"

"For making such awesome friends at ShinRa which gave me a connection and made it easier for me." Alec grinned.

"Okay, sure." Roy nodded.

"Talk to you tomorrow!" Zack said, waving enthusiastically. Alec nodded, grinned, and walked off.

"_Zack Fair I am going to kill you!_" Roy hissed in fury once Alec was out of earshot.

"What did I do!?" Zack asked fearfully.

"You told him he could come back with us! He's going to expect to see me _and_ Kayli together in the helicopter! How do you expect me to clone myself? You're such an idiot!" Roy vented his frustration, even adding a _thwack_ to Zack's shoulder after he finished speaking.

Zack stared at him silently for a moment, eyes wide, before he grinned.

"Just tell him one of you had to go back early. Maybe you did? ShinRa called you back early for something so-"

"But I can't turn up at ShinRa as Kayli. Not everyone knows about me." Roy snapped.

"Then... I need to call Sephiroth."

Zack then promptly spun around and ran off, leaving Roy to fume on the sand, his hands clenched tightly into fists.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Brawn hates me." Davis groaned. He, Rex and Cloud were on their way back to their room after being forced to do an endurance run.

"He's not that bad." Cloud said, frowning and glancing over at the other boy.

"Oh no, he likes _you_," Davis laughed. "But that's because you can do everything he asks without even breaking into a sweat!"

Cloud looked down at his feet and mumbled, "I do sweat."

"This is the weirdest conversation. Seriously, I still just can't get over how Roy was pulled out to go on another mission this morning." Rex sighed. "Do you think he'll get eaten by a monster or something? If he does we won't have to worry about him any more."

Davis shot him a frown. "I thought I was supposed to be the sour one out of us."

"Stole your job." Rex laughed.

Cloud looked over at Davis and saw the slight worry on his face. Yes, it was obvious that he and Roy were in some sort of relationship. The way they spoke to each other and the way they looked when thinking about each other gave it away like a beacon.

"Hey! Where's Peters?"

Spinning around, they found themselves facing Jinx once again. The boy with the green Mohawk did not look happy.

"He went on another mission, why?" Davis asked, folding his arms.

"Reno's been asking about him. Said there's something weird about him that he's going to find out." Jinx said, folding his arms to copy Davis and then raising an eyebrow in a challenge.

"Yeah well, mind your own business." Davis growled, grabbing Rex's shoulder and pulling him to face the other way, continuing walking to their room.

"So you _do_ know about it." Jinx said smugly. Davis froze and clenched his jaw. There was no way anything Jinx said could make him spill about Kayli.

"What on earth are you _on_?" Rex asked, turning around to fix Jinx with a look that clearly showed that he thought he was mental. "Roy's just Roy. Sure he's probably got a history, but don't you? I have a history! Davis has a history! Cloud has a history!"

"Well said." Davis murmured.

"I stand by what I said. You know something that neither you nor Roy wants anyone else to know." Jinx said, staring at Davis still.

"Let's go." Davis said, breaking eye contact and again trying to walk off. This time, thankfully, Jinx didn't say anything else and simply let them walk off.

Reaching their room and walking inside, Davis sighed.

"So what was that all about?" Rex asked immediately.

"Huh?" Davis asked, frowning and looking up.

"What's Roy's secret?"

"Not you too!" Davis groaned, turning away from him and pulled at some of his hair in frustration.

"You're not even going to tell your best friend?" Rex pouted.

"It's not my secret to tell!" Davis said. "Ask Roy when he comes back."

Rex frowned but slowly nodded.

"I hate to say it but you have a point."

Davis moved over to his bed and was about to check his schedule for tomorrow when the intercom crackled into life. He paused, shocked to hear it because it hadn't been used ever since Roy had been first called when Gemma had visited him.

"Davis Taison, you are needed at reception."

"Oh, do you think there'll be a cute girl waiting there for you like there was for Roy?" Rex asked excitedly, obviously thinking along similar lines to his friend.

"Who knows." Davis shrugged. "But I highly doubt it."

"Good luck." Cloud said, raising his head from checking his schedule.

"Thanks, but I don't think I'm about to go to my doom either." Davis laughed. Shaking his head lightly, he headed over to the door and exited out it, making his way to reception. He wondered what he could be wanted for and then suddenly remembered Roy saying he had to talk to Sephiroth about keeping Reno quiet. Could Sephiroth be wanting to speak to him? But he wouldn't have been called to reception, would he?

Hands in his pockets, he turned the last corner and began moving over to the front desk when something caught his eye and he frowned before stumbling over his feet and staring in disbelief and horror.

Director Lazard was slowly walking towards him and there was a man beside him who had a stony expression on his face.

Davis could have recognised that face anywhere and his feet suddenly felt glued to the floor, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. His hands started sweating and all he wanted to do was turn and run, but instead he forced himself to stand there and speak the dreaded words he had hoped he would never have to say.

"D-Dad. What are you doing here?"


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I keep forgetting to say this! If you want to find out what happened on Davis and Rex's mission from a while ago, reading Lioneh's story Imaginings of You because she wrote of their mission. It's here:

h t t p : / / w w w . f a n f I c t I o n . n e t / s / 5 2 4 8 8 9 9 / 1 / I m a g I n I n g s _ o f _ Y o u

When Alec came to meet them at the inn the next day, Zack was beaming happily. He had spoken to Sephiroth about their problem and was now positive nothing could go wrong at all. He just hoped Alec was good at giving people their privacy.

"Where's Kayli?" Alec asked as he glanced between Zack and Roy. Roy had been filled in on the plan of course, but still wasn't happy, so he stayed silent and let Zack do all the talking.

"She's already with the helicopter," Zack said. "Last night she got really sick with something and today it was just getting worse, so she's waiting there for us. Mind you, I wouldn't get too close unless you want to catch it as well."

"Oh," Alec frowned. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"As soon as she's back with the medical staff at ShinRa to look after her she'll be fine." Zack nodded. He gestured with a hand before walking off, holding his luggage as he went. Roy and Alec followed behind him, each carrying their own stuff as well.

When they reached the helicopter and got in, Roy couldn't help but shoot a worried glance at the figure bundled up and slouching over at the back. All he could think was, 'will Alec realise it's not Kayli?'

Strapping in, Roy could tell Alec was doing his best not to look at the crumpled figure as well as not ask any questions. He probably didn't want to come across as rude, especially in front of the cousin.

"You know the procedure," Zack said to Roy. "Wake me up when we get there. And Alec? Try to get some sleep yourself."

Doing exactly what he had done when they had been going _to_ Costa del Sol, Zack was soon fast asleep. Alec also tried to get comfortable and then Roy was left to his own thoughts as the only sound was that of the propellers.

Leaning his head back, he stared up at the roof and sighed. He hadn't gotten any proper training from Zack since he had been so nervous after seeing Alec and wondering what they were going to do about getting to ShinRa as Roy.

Sephiroth was a pure genius, deciding to send someone late the night before who could simply pretend to be Kayli. They wouldn't have to speak or show their face since Kayli was apparently 'sick' and with the use of Roy's wig, at least the hair would look real.

It was a third class SOLDIER who had been chosen for the job and Roy actually recognised him from when he had gone to the bar as Kayli to see his friends. He had met two other SOLDIERs that night, Camon and Nareau. Nareau, the one Roy remembered as the sleeping SOLDIER, was currently doing his job well.

So by the time the helicopter landed at ShinRa again Roy had succeeded in convincing himself everything would be alright and had calmed his nerves. He was confident, finally, that Alec was not going to find out his secret.

Today, at least.

Zack was awake before Roy could do anything and he quickly woke Alec up before helping him out and onto the ground.

"Roy can handle Kayli," Zack said. "I'll show you to where you can grab some forms and start filling them out. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll be able to join."

Thankful that Alec was being taken care of, Roy helped 'Kayli' out of the helicopter. Once Zack and Alec were out of view, Nareau took off the blankets and handed the wig to Roy.

"You did a good job." Roy said honestly.

"Uh, thanks." Nareau frowned and then left, the blankets piled up in his arms.

Making his way to his room with his bag in one hand, Roy sighed. Was Alec going to expect to see Kayli again soon, before she 'went back home' so to speak?

Groaning, he pushed the door open and dropped his stuff on the floor, his eyes meeting Rex and Cloud who were quietly doing some reading for one of their subjects.

"Welcome back Roy, we missed you so much. You have no idea how boring it was here without you," Roy said mockingly. "Come on guys, I'm back!"

"Yeah, hi." Rex mumbled.

Uh oh. Roy's thoughts immediately turned to the worst possible scenario and his face paled. Had Davis told them he was a girl?

"Is there something wrong?" Roy asked cautiously.

"Use your eyes, Roy. What comes to mind?" Rex asked. He didn't sound angry... just upset. He also hadn't lifted his eyes from what he was reading yet and it made Roy nervous.

He quickly searched around the room with his eyes for something that was out of the ordinary and found himself gasping in shock. All of Davis' stuff was gone. All of it.

"Where's Davis?" he asked.

"His dad took him." Rex murmured. His hands tightened on the book he was reading and a moment later he had thrown it down. "It's all my fault! His father hates me and I don't blame him."

"What?" Roy gasped. He remembered Davis finding out he was a girl and also finding out that Davis had lied about his name to ShinRa because he'd run away from home and didn't want to be found. By his dad.

"Rex, why does his dad hate you? Just tell us!" Cloud begged and Roy could tell he had been trying to make Rex tell for a while.

"I'm..." Rex paused and then his shoulders sagged. "I'm the one who made him want to come to ShinRa in the first place. I knew his dad wouldn't ever let him but I never shut up about it and even gave him the stupid idea of running away. When we both got here we thought it was awesome that he'd escaped his dad and we didn't really think he'd find us..."

"How long ago did his dad come for him?" Roy asked, horrified.

"Last night." Rex leaned back and slowly shook his head. "I can't believe I didn't think about his dad searching for me, though. Because that's probably how he found Davis. Seriously, I should have known his dad would know Davis would be with me."

"Rex, it's not your fault." Roy said, trying to help his friend while also trying not to die inside. He needed Davis! Davis was the only one who knew his secret!

"Then whose fault is it?" Rex asked angrily.

"Look, I'll go talk to Sephiroth and see what-"

"What is up with you and Sephiroth? Ever since, I don't even know when, you've been all chummy with him." Rex said, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Have not!" Roy said quickly, feeling his heart rate speed up. He couldn't deal with this right now. Why did Rex have to start asking questions?

"Then why do you think talking to Sephiroth is going to do anything?" Rex asked pointedly.

"I'm gonna go get some food." Cloud mumbled, jumping off his bed and leaving the room. He had a very useful sixth sense which told him when a conversation could get ugly.

"Who knows? Maybe he'll be able to talk to Davis' dad and explain that he's good enough to be here." Roy shrugged.

Rex frowned and slowly walked closer towards Roy, studying his face closely. Instinctively, Roy backed away from him.

"What's that?" Rex asked, gesturing at his own eyes to indicate Roy's eyes.

Roy reached up to rub his eye, wondering what Rex could see, and when he brought his hand down again he felt an intense sinking feeling in his chest. Of _course_. How could he be so stupid?

"Why are you wearing eyeliner?" Rex asked quietly.

"I'm not." Roy said immediately.

"Yes you are. Why?"

"I... just wanted to see what it was like." Roy fumbled for words. Was that even a possible excuse for a guy?

"Do you lie often?" Rex asked accusingly.

"What are you talking about?" Roy frowned.

"Well, if it was so normal for you to lie about wearing eyeliner, how many other lies have I just not noticed?" Rex explained, raising an eyebrow.

"Rex, this isn't important." Roy said, trying not to fiddle with his hands nervously as he wanted to.

"Yes it is! If I can't trust you, neither can Davis. So I don't want you doing _anything_ to try and 'help' him." Rex snarled. "It's not like we know what your motives are."

Roy was about to reply when the door opened and they turned to see Alec standing there smiling.

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting?" he asked.

"No." Roy snapped.

"Okay," Alec frowned. "Anyway, Roy, I joined! Tomorrow I'm gonna be doing some of the beginning training and stuff. But they said I could stay in your room since you've got an extra bed or something. Is that okay?"

"That's just _great_." Roy sighed sarcastically.

"I can come back later..." Alec said slowly, glancing between Roy and Rex with a worried look in his eyes.

"He's being a jerk, that's all." Rex spoke up and moved over to Alec. "I'm Rex Rance."

"Alec Freshstone." They shook hands and Roy felt his heart sink lower, if it was even possible. The situation just kept getting worse and worse.

"So what are you doing here?" Rex asked.

"Well after meeting Roy in Costa de-"

"Okay! This is awesome! You should get some sleep. Tomorrow's gonna be really hard for you so I really recommend it." Roy said, interrupting as he realised Alec was about to tell Rex about going to Costa del Sol. Not good.

Also, what would happen when Alec mentioned Kayli, which he was probably going to do?

"Uh, okay." Alec frowned.

"What on earth, Roy? The beginning training is easy." Rex said, his eyes narrowed at his friend.

"Well it helps to get lots of sleep anyway!" Roy said.

"Don't listen to him, he's weird." Rex sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"Yeah well, I only met him a few days ago but if he's anything like Kayli then he _must_ be weird." Alec laughed teasingly.

Maybe Roy should have let Alec say that they'd been in Costa del Sol. Explaining that was more appealing than explaining to Rex the relation to Kayli and explaining to Alec why Rex had no idea if Kayli had apparently been staying nearby for... months.

"Kayli? The chick from the bar?" Rex asked.

"You met her at a bar?" Alec asked, shocked. "Isn't she too young to be at a bar?"

"How old is she?" Rex asked.

"Fourteen." Alec replied.

Roy felt like he was watching tennis.

"Serious? Wow."

"I thought you'd know that. Didn't you tell them anything, Roy?"

Roy blinked as he was brought into the conversation and shrugged. Having their eyes fixed to him was nerve-wracking. Rex was frowning at him again and Alec just looked confused.

"Nope." Roy said bluntly.

"I think I'm missing something." Rex muttered.

"Kayli's Roy's cousin." Alec explained.

Suddenly, Rex rounded on Roy, his eyes wide in anger.

"You let us ramble about her when you knew all along she was your _cousin_!?" he yelled in shock. "Why would you do that?"

"I don't know! Let's all just go to sleep!" Roy yelled back, but there was an obvious pleading tone to his voice.

"Don't you dare think you're getting away with it that easy! I can't believe we didn't know." Rex shook his head. "Did you think it was funny? Have you been talking to Kayli about how we think she's hot?"

"Shut up, Rex! Just shut up!" Roy snapped angrily, putting his hands over his ears and turning away.

"Hey, Rex," Alec said softly. "I don't know about him, but Kayli wouldn't talk to people about something like that. She's a nice girl. Speaking of which... I should go check on her."

"Check on her? What the heck?" Rex threw his hands up. "Clearly I'm missing a lot more of the story than I thought I was!"

"Well, she got sick last night and it worsened today so I just thought I'd check on her. I mean, she's my sisters best friend so it's the least I can do." Alec shrugged.

"Please don't go check on her. She hates people visiting her when she's sick." Roy spoke up again.

"You know what? Just because you've been a jerk and lied to me, I'm going to go with Alec to check on her." Rex said, folding his arms. "There is _nothing_ you can do to stop me."

Alec looked worried about leaving, but as Rex left out the door all he did was shoot an apologetic look to Roy before following.

Roy would have screamed in frustration, but instead he just grabbed his bag and pulled out his wig, plus his make-up bag, before grabbing his phone.

"Pick up... quick..."

He tapped his foot impatiently, his heart racing. Finally, there was a click and a familiar voice answered.

"Yes?"

"Sephiroth, I know you can do it, so please, put all the elevators out of order for me _right now_." Roy begged. He didn't even remember when he'd gotten Sephiroth's number, but it was probably when working with Genesis and Sephiroth had called. Roy had managed to see the number on the screen at the time. Funny how some things stick in the mind better than others.

After a slight silence from the other end of the phone, there was a sigh.

"Done. Now what's all this for?" Sephiroth asked.

"You're officially my hero!" Roy hissed quietly, ducking out of his room and running down the corridor. Pausing before a corner, he heard Rex grumbling angrily.

"We'll have to take the stairs, come on."

Closing his eyes and trying to breathe slowly, he waited for the sound of the door to the staircase closing before darting out and going over to the elevator.

"Okay, please, can you make them all work again?" Roy begged.

"You are one lucky kid, considering the fact that I have a button for this right beside me." Sephiroth said.

Roy grinned as the lights on the elevator appeared and he quickly pressed the up button, waiting for the doors to open before stepping in.

"I know you do, I saw it last time I was in there." Roy said. He set his make-up bag down and had already started changing his make-up. "I'll talk to you later. But I totally owe you!"

"You really, really do." Sephiroth muttered right before Roy turned off the phone and shoved it in his pocket.

Pulling his wig on, he hurriedly did his make-up and made his face a little bit paler than normal so that he would look the part of 'sick'.

When the elevator reached the right floor, Kayli ran out and straight to the infirmary. She startled quite a few people as she ran in and quickly claimed an empty bed, sliding her make-up bag and boots under the bed before grabbing a white gown and slipping it on over her clothes, climbing into the bed and letting out a sigh.

Just as she was about to try and think of something to say to all the medical staff, Sephiroth walked in. There was an amused smile on his face as he saw her and he shook his head slightly.

"She's here on my orders," Sephiroth said to the medical staff, causing them to appear much more relaxed now that someone was in control of the situation.

"You're not gonna make me run a couple hundred extra miles for this, are you?" Kayli asked quietly.

"I'm thinking about it." Sephiroth said seriously. "I'm not sure what could be good enough to make up for this though."

"I'll clean your office? Even your house if you want me to. I promise, whatever you want I'll do it after this is over." Kayli said honestly.

"Why didn't you ask your other friend for help? Davis Taison." Sephiroth asked.

Kayli frowned and propped herself up on her elbows to look at Sephiroth easier. "I thought you knew..."

"Knew what?" Sephiroth asked.

"Davis was taken by his dad last night." she said quietly.

"Last night?" Sephiroth asked. Muttering something angrily, he turned away. "That's when I was sending Nareau to cover for you."

Kayli bit her lip in a wince. "I owe you for a lot, don't I?"

Sephiroth turned back to her, another small smile on his lips again. He seemed to know something she didn't because his eyes said it plainly, but before she could question him the door opened and Alec and Rex walked in.

"Have fun." Sephiroth murmured, turning and walking out briskly.

Kayli swallowed and tried to smile as they approached. She felt sick for real now, so at least she was only partially acting.

"Hey."


	17. Chapter 17

"Hey, Kayli," Alec said, moving over to stand beside her bed. She was glad he didn't look under the bed, but seriously, who would?

"What are you doing here?" she asked, flopping back against the pillow again. She was exhausted from having adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Thought I'd come check on you," Alec grinned. "I mean, Gemma would want me to. How are you feeling?"

Kayli noticed Rex's eyes bulge and inwardly groaned. The poor boy had no idea how Gemma had anything to do with this so she could only imagine how he was feeling.

"I'm not too bad." Kayli shrugged.

"You looked horrible in the helicopter, no offence." Alec laughed.

"I'm sure I did. I felt it." Kayli nodded. "Hey, is this Rex? I remember you from the bar."

Rex shifted on his feet and nodded awkwardly.

"Um," he swallowed. "Has your cousin spoken about me?"

"Well, he told me he was rooming with three awesome guys. But he didn't talk much about the individuals." Kayli shrugged. "Why?"

"No reason." Rex looked away, relieved.

Kayli wanted to kill herself for making him feel so bad.

"So Kayli, what's this about you going to a bar? What's to stop me from telling your parents about this?" Alec teased.

"Alec, you wouldn't!" Kayli said suddenly, so suddenly that she sat up as well. Immediately her head spun and she groaned, flopping back down again.

"Of course I wouldn't! Don't stress yourself out too much." Alec said.

"Are you sure Roy is your cousin?" Rex asked quietly. "You look too alike to be that distant. You look like twins."

"Oh, we get that a lot. But yes, we're cousins." Kayli confirmed.

"What's the name of Roy's sister?" Rex asked.

"What sister?" Kayli asked, frowning in confusion. As soon as she said it though, she felt stupid.

_That_ sister.

"Well, Davis and Roy were talking about Roy's sister. Davis thought she was hot and wanted to go out with her. I don't know how he met her though, 'cause I haven't." Rex explained.

"Oh," was all Kayli could say. She didn't know whether to say there was a sister or that there wasn't. She didn't know whether she'd be able to handle it if everyone thought there was yet another person in her family. "Roy doesn't have a sister."

Rex looked absolutely betrayed. Just minutes before he'd been fighting with Roy and now he finds out his best friend of a lot longer lied to him about something?

"Look, I'll talk to you later Kayli," Alec said. "I'll let you two catch up a bit."

Kayli stared over at him in shock as he walked to the door. Forcing herself to calm down again, she looked back to Rex. It didn't matter if Alec walked into their room and didn't find Roy. Who's to say Roy didn't run off angrily as well?

"Please don't take this personally," Rex sighed, grabbing a chair and sitting beside her bed on it. "But I _hate_ Roy."

_How is that not personal!?_

"Rex," Kayli felt her heart rate speed up as she thought about what she had to do. "I have to tell you something."

"What, Roy did actually talk to you about me? Don't worry, I figured as much." Rex leant back in his chair and clenched his teeth together in annoyance.

"This is important, please listen." Kayli said, pretending Rex hadn't spoken at all. Slowly turning to look at her, he frowned slightly.

"What?"

_He's going to hate me. Forever. I'm not even exaggerating._

"The thing is... well..." Kayli swallowed. "Rex, I'm-"

"I knew it! You're a girl!"

Kayli gasped and looked over at the door, seeing Reno standing there with a very triumphant look on his face.

"Of course she's a girl, you idiot." Rex snapped.

"Excuse me? That's no way to talk to your possible future mentor." Reno said as he walked over. Kayli rolled her eyes, wondering what on earth was wrong with Reno. Who said Rex was going to become a Turk anyway?

"Sorry."

Wait, did Rex just accept that?

"You're gonna become a Turk?" Kayli asked before she could help herself. Rex looked over at her and shrugged.

"I think so," he admitted softly. "But I haven't told anyone else because they're always going on about getting into SOLDIER."

"That's lovely," Reno said. "But oh my gosh, you're a girl!"

"Can we talk later?" Kayli asked, her eyes pleading.

"You mean you actually know him? Is there anyone here that you don't know?" Rex asked, standing up and glaring down at her. "You and your cousin, you're both hiding something."

"Sure, okay, I'll come back later!" Reno said, laughing nervously and walking out.

Poor medical staff.

"Rex, please sit down!" Kayli begged. "Just let me explain!"

"No thanks! I'd rather go yell at Roy for lying about even more. Maybe I'll even give Davis a call to yell at him. Because you say Roy doesn't have a sister, so why did Davis lie about that? And that also means that Davis _must_ have asked Roy out."

Rex was freaking out. It was so painful to watch, but Kayli didn't know what to do. He didn't want to listen to her so how was she supposed to get his attention?

Feeling her eyes start to sting, she knew she'd have to do something extreme.

Kayli reached up and pulled her wig off.

* * *

Davis crumpled up the eleventh piece of paper and threw it into the bin, sighing. He didn't know how to word his apology to his friends.

SOLDIER had always been his dream, so what was he supposed to do with his life? Oh, that's right. His dad wanted him to get a better education and then start work in the family shop like everyone else in his family did.

Taking another piece of paper, he started again.

_Hey guys,_

_ I'm really sorry that I had to leave, but it couldn't be helped. I wasn't meant to be at ShinRa so it was bound to happen eventually. I hope you all have fun and_

He threw that one out as well.

The house phone suddenly started to ring and he pulled himself to his feet, going to answer it since his dad was working in the shop.

"Hello?"

"Davis! It's me, Zack!"

"Zack who?" Davis asked with a frown.

"Zack Fair! From ShinRa! The SOLDIER!" Zack explained excitedly.

Davis blinked in shock. "Why are you calling?"

"To get you to come back, duh!" Zack laughed.

"Look, I didn't leave because I-"

"I know. Your dad came and got you and now you wish you could come back but your dad won't let you. Blah blah, etc." Zack took a breath. "But if you want, I can talk to him about how awesome you are and try to convince him that you're good enough for SOLDIER."

"You think I'm good enough for SOLDIER?" Davis gasped. From SOLDIER to grunt, that was an amazing compliment.

"Yes, I do. So can I speak to your dad?" Zack asked.

"He's working in the shop..."

"Oh okay, I thought he might be. Alright, I'll talk to you later then!"

Davis opened his mouth to speak but there was a click and he frowned. Had Zack just hung up on him?

Hanging up the phone, Davis walked back to his room and sat down at his desk. Maybe he shouldn't write a letter to his friends at ShinRa. Maybe he should call them instead. Well, he could call Rex and ask him to pass on some messages at least.

Pulling out his personal phone, he dialled Rex's number.

* * *

Rex opened and closed his mouth multiple times in a fashion that quite resembled a fish and made Kayli momentarily wonder whether he was somehow related to the species. Then he closed his mouth tightly, squared his shoulders and blinked.

"You're Roy's twin sister, aren't you?" he said.

Kayli truly wished she could hit him for that. Honestly, how thick could the boy possibly be?

"Rex, I'm-"

"Whoa!" Rex jumped as his phone rang and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket, shock still evident in his eyes as he continued staring at her even though he now had the phone to his ear.

Kayli lowered her eyes to the wig she was holding in her hands and sighed. She had honestly thought that taking it off would quickly and effectively show Rex what she had been trying to tell him – that she was actually Roy. But apparently she had been too convincing as her part as Roy and he had thought something else entirely.

"Davis! Why didn't you tell me you were gay?"

Kayli looked up again in an instant, pain in her eyes. Way to go Rex, shoot down the conversation before it's begun.

"I'm not stupid, alright? Roy doesn't have a sister so you must have been asking him out, which only leaves the explanation that you're gay and Roy isn't so he rejected you but to cover up the mistake he let you lie about him having a sister and-"

"Rex stop rambling and let the boy talk!" Kayli screamed, jumping out of the bed and walking over to him. Her eyes were blazing angrily and Rex's eyes widened as he saw her.

"Uh, actually, Kayli's here..." Rex said to a question Davis had asked.

What Davis said next was loud enough that Kayli could hear as well.

"YOU MEAN YOU KNOW ABOUT KAYLI!?"

"How on earth do _you_ know about Kayli?" Rex asked, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Give me the phone!" Kayli suddenly begged. Sure, she wanted Rex to know who she was, but she didn't want this to be the way that he found out. If it was up to her, she'd be the one to say it.

"No!" Rex said to her. "I want to know how he knows."

"Please, Rex!" Kayli begged, reaching out and trying to forcefully take the phone from him. He stepped backwards away from her and she groaned.

Rex looked away from Kayli for a moment as his eyes widened at something Davis was saying. Kayli closed her eyes and waited, knowing that any minute now something bad would happen and Rex would start yelling again.

It was funny how Rex wasn't the kind of person to yell very much, but that he had been doing it an awful lot that day.

"You asked out Kayli _and_ Roy? What, so you're bi?" Rex frowned as Davis said something else. "Duh, that she's Roy's cousin! That's what I know. Why, what do _you_ know about Kayli?"

Kayli growled and lunged forward, managing to pull the phone from his hand and then running to the other side of the room quickly.

"Davis?" she asked.

"What's going on?" came his worried voice.

"I need you, that's what's going on! As soon as I somehow get you back I'm going to-"

"Don't worry, Zack called. He said he was going to talk to my dad. I don't know if he'll make any progress but it's worth a try, yeah?" Davis said.

"Um, wow, yeah." Kayli frowned slightly. How did Zack know?

"So you two are actually going out!" Rex accused, watching Kayli with sharp eyes. "What did Roy do when he found out?"

"Davis, I can't wait until you get back here. Rex is delusional. I'm standing here without my wig on and he called me Roy's twin sister!" Kayli blurted out.

"You have to admit, until it's shoved in your face it's hard to tell. You do an incredibly good job of pretending to be a guy." Davis said unhelpfully.

"So you're not Roy's twin sister?" Rex asked.

"Davis I'm sorry about not being here when your dad came. I might have been able to think about something to-"

"_Would someone please listen to me and stop ignoring me so that they can answer my questions?_" Rex yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Davis can we call you back? I really need to explain things to Rex." Kayli said.

"Yeah, okay. I didn't mean to call at the most inopportune moment..." Davis sighed.

"It's not your fault. But I'll call you back asap, alright?" Kayli said. When Davis said yes again she hung up and pocketed Rex's phone, turning her piercing glare onto him and clenching her teeth.

"Kayli? Come on, we only just met... you don't have to get all angry with me for wanting answers." Rex said quietly, obviously frightened by the look she was giving him.

"Sit down, shut up and let me explain." she snapped.

Rex moved over to the chair he had been sitting on before and sat, gripping the edges tightly with his hands.

Sighing, Kayli closed her eyes briefly before opening them again.

"I'm Roy."

Rex grinned and said, "No seriously, just because you're a girl doesn't mean you can get away with joking like this. Hurry up and-"

"I am Roy and I'm not lying! I am a girl! Roy is a girl! I have always been a girl! I shut down the elevators so that I could get to the infirmary before you and Alec! For goodness sake, what do I have to do to make you believe me?" Kayli yelled.

Rex's eyes were the size of saucers as he stared at her. He couldn't quite get his head around what had been said, but for some reason he knew it was true.

"Why on earth would you pretend to be a guy?" he asked finally.

"Because I want to be a SOLDIER, you dimwit!" Kayli exclaimed. "But keep listening closely, alright? You can't tell _anyone_ that I'm a girl."

"Does Sephiroth know?" Rex asked.

"Yes."

"Davis?"

"Yes."

"...Zack?"

"Yes."

"Alec?"

"No."

"Cloud?"

"No, he just thinks I'm gay."

"…"

"Apparently I haven't been very low-key about my-"

"You like Davis?" Rex interrupted her explanation. Frowning, Kayli nodded slowly.

"Yeah? I mean, he asked me out, remember? Come on, you can't be that slow. It's why he lied in the first place, because he'd made a promise but didn't want to look gay because he's not." Kayli shrugged.

"Right." Rex looked down at his lap and clenched his jaw.

"You don't... I mean, you don't like me too do you?" Kayli asked quietly and fearfully.

"No, not really. Not after hearing you're Roy, because that's just weird. But I just wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me. I mean, why'd you tell Davis and not me?" Rex asked sadly.

"Oh, Rex," Kayli said, dropping to her knees in front of him so they were at the same height. "I didn't tell him! Sephiroth did. I honestly hadn't been planning on telling anyone at all. The people who know... they all found out without me telling them."

"Who else knows?" Rex asked then.

"Reno, who just came in before. Edvard, Hojo and I think Nareau does." Kayli said softly.

"That's a lot of people." Rex murmured.

"I know, but for some reason Sephiroth wants to keep me here so he's been making sure no one tells. So, Lazard doesn't know." Kayli said.

"I can't believe you're a girl. What do I call you? Kayli or Roy?" Rex asked.

"Call me Roy, just so that you don't slip up some time." Kayli said.

"This is so weird." Rex shook his head.

"Can I call Davis back now?" Kayli asked cautiously. After Rex nodded she stood and pulled the phone from her pocket, hitting redial.

A moment later there was an answer.

"Hello?"

"Davis, it's Kayli."

"Hey! Did you tell Rex?"

"He's currently mulling over the information." Kayli nodded although he couldn't see.

"I hope you didn't kill him." Davis chuckled.

"Of course not! Rex is tough. Anyway, have you heard more from Zack?" she questioned.

"No, not yet. But if he called my dad he's probably still talking to him. My dad is a hard guy to persuade." Davis explained.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Zack will be able to do it." Kayli said reassuringly. "Oh my gosh! Wait a second- Rex, Alec doesn't know. So we have to try even harder to convince him Roy is a guy. I've known him almost my whole life! He's Gemma's brother."

"What's Gemma's brother doing there?" Davis asked.

"Long story." Kayli said breezily.

"No wonder you've been acting so weird!" Rex said, standing up. "But sure, I'll help you out. Sorry about being so difficult."

"Kayli?"

"Right, Alec joined ShinRa." Kayli said to Davis as way of an explanation. "He's now staying in our room as well."

"You really have been digging yourself a hole, haven't you?" Davis laughed.

"Definitely! Especially since I now owe Sephiroth my entire _life_." Kayli groaned. "He's helped me out so much I'm beginning to wonder whether he's got ulterior motives."

"I bet he does." Rex piped up.

"Oh, he definitely does." Davis said.

"Well thanks boys, it's good to know you're being optimistic today." Kayli said sarcastically.

The three friends continued to talk, with Kayli and Rex occasionally passing the phone to each other, for a long while. When they finally hung up with Davis, Rex was feeling much better about the situation. In fact, he had taken to joking about it with almost everything he said. Kayli was feeling a bit nervous that it would become habit.

"So Kayli, what was it like entering the world of hot guys?" Rex asked with a grin.

"For goodness sake, give it a rest." she groaned.

She picked up her wig, took off the white gown she was wearing and then pulled on her boots, grabbing her make-up box and walking with Rex towards the doors. She thought he was finally going to stay silent when-

"So Roy, when are you going to tell Cloud the news?"


	18. Chapter 18

Entering their room, Rex and Roy tried to act like nothing was different. Roy managed to put his make-up bag back under his bed without anyone asking what it was and breathed a sigh of relief as he sat on his bed.

"Are you guys okay, now?" Alec asked, glancing between Rex and Roy.

"Oh, yeah." Rex nodded.

"That's good, it would have been weird if there was still tension." Alec commented. Roy couldn't help but twitch nervously. Even as Kayli, he had never spent much time with Alec and it was weird to be doing so now.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

"Uh, um, hang on." Roy mumbled, grabbing his phone and then dashing out of the room like a bullet. How _embarrassing_. His phone hadn't rung at all since he'd been here, so who on earth could it be?

Well, duh. Gemma.

"What?" Kayli snapped.

"My brother left!" Gemma exclaimed. "He left a note for my parents saying that he wanted to get out and see the world. What if something bad's happened to him? I'm sorry, I know this doesn't really concern you but-"

"Um, actually, he's here at ShinRa." Kayli murmured.

"_What!?_" Gemma screamed.

"He joined ShinRa. He's even staying in my room, actually." Kayli explained with a shrug that her friend couldn't see.

"Oh my gosh. Does he know it's you?" Gemma asked.

"Funny story, see..." Kayli then proceeded to tell her friend all about what had happened including how they had first seen each other.

"Are you serious? I can't believe Sephiroth actually did as you asked! He sounds so nice but he's always portrayed as emotionless in the media." Gemma said.

"He's probably planning on killing me." Kayli sighed.

"That's a shame. It was nice knowing you, then." Gemma said sadly.

"What?" Kayli gasped in fake horror.

"Well, if it's Sephiroth he's not going to fail. Once he puts his mind to something... I shudder to think about what could happen." Gemma giggled.

"Sadly, that's true." Kayli joined in her friends amusement.

"But whoa, Alec is there? Do I tell-"

"Hang on," Kayli said, turning and heading back to her room. "Becoming Roy for a second."

"Oh, weird. Okay." Gemma snorted with a roll of her eyes.

Seeing as the people in her room knew that Gemma was Roy's friend, it wouldn't be weird if she announced who had called her. It would then be easier to talk to Alec about it.

Roy walked in and gestured to Alec.

"Gem? He's right here." Roy said. Alec's eyes widened.

"Hey! No, stop! I can't believe you told her I was here!" Alec said, stumbling backwards and waving his hands in front of himself frantically.

"Well, she just called saying she was really worried about what had happened to you and didn't even know if you were still alive, so what was I supposed to say? Here, you can talk to her for a minute." Roy shoved the phone at Alec, who hesitated before taking it and walking out of the room.

"Where's Cloud?" Rex asked randomly.

"Who knows? He ran off before when we were arguing." Roy said, moving over to his bed and sitting down.

"Are you gonna tell him?" Rex pressed, moving to sit next to him.

"Just because I've actually told someone by choice now doesn't mean I have to continue going around telling people." Roy said with narrowed eyes, folding his arms.

"I know, but he's our friend too and I think he deserves to know. I'd hate it if I found out I was the only one in our group who didn't know. Tell him today and it's not so bad, because I only just found out as well." Rex reasoned with a shrug and an innocent grin.

"Why do you want him to know?" Roy asked with a frown.

"I just want to see his face when he realises you're not actually gay."

"I'm sure it won't be too exciting. He'll probably just say something like, 'oh okay, that makes sense'." Roy said stubbornly.

"I highly doubt that, actually." Rex continued. "Let's go find him!"

"Can I please just have some time to get used to you knowing? It'll be too much if someone else finds out right away." Roy groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Besides, I have to figure out what I'm going to do about Alec."

"What do you mean? Act normally." Rex shrugged.

"But he'll be expecting to still see Kayli sometimes, so how am I supposed to arrange that? And won't he start questioning things if he never sees Kayli and I together at one time?" Roy asked, looking up with his eyebrows drawn together in worry.

"Don't worry," Rex said calmly. "I'll help you out with that."

"That doesn't mean he won't ask questions." Roy said.

"Well, if you told Cloud I'm sure he'd help you too! But since you don't want to tell him, you're stuck with only me. Oh, and Sephiroth." Rex shrugged.

"Give it a rest, Rex," Roy finally laughed. "I'm not telling Cloud and you can't either!"

With a loud sigh, Rex flopped back on the bed and said, "Fine."

* * *

Mr Taison was standing in the back of his shop, occasionally glancing up to see whether his brother was still doing a good job on the front desk. Mr Taison would have preferred to be up there with him, but seeing as the phone had rung he had to answer it.

"I don't know what you're getting at," he said with a frown. "Davis is at home and now has nothing to do with ShinRa. He never will again."

"But Sir, please listen," the other voice said quickly. "When Davis was here he showed himself to possess amazing abilities and I'm positive he would make an excellent SOLDIER if you just allowed him to-"

"You want me to send my son back to you? Never! He has to stay here and help me with the shop." Mr Taison said angrily.

"Is he helping you right now?"

"What? No, he's at home getting some rest and recovering from what you made him do at ShinRa." Mr Taison spat.

"FROM WHAT WE MADE HIM-!?!?"

"Hello, Mr Taison? I'm sorry about my friend Zack, he gets a bit excited sometimes."

Mr Taison frowned as a new voice came on the phone.

"My name is Reno and I'm from the Turk department of ShinRa. I understand you don't want to send your son back here to try and become a SOLDIER, but we have reason to believe that he would be a useful asset to us. Don't get me wrong, you will not be left empty handed should you choose to send him back. In exchange you will receive... payment. I believe your shop could benefit from our considerable donation?"

Mr Taison stayed silent for a moment as the words of this man sunk into him and he realised just what was being offered. They were going to pay to have Davis go back to them? Why? What was so good about the boy that would make them pay a lot of money just so they could get him back?

Glancing up at the room around him, Mr Taison sighed and then closed his eyes. "How much exactly are we talking?"

* * *

Alec walked back into the room after a while and handed Roy his phone.

"Sorry about that," Alec said nervously. "I didn't actually tell them where I was going."

"Don't worry, I understand." Roy said with a sympathetic smile.

"So, why'd you leave?" Rex asked curiously.

"I just wanted to get out and do something for myself, I guess. It was really selfish, I know." Alec said softly. "At least my parents aren't worrying any more. Gemma told them where I was and thankfully they were cool with it. After giving a bit of a yell, of course."

Alec cracked a grin then and the awkwardness of the situation disappeared.

"Well I sure hope Davis manages to convince his dad ShinRa's good so he can come back." Rex groaned.

"Davis?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, he used to room with us but his dad found out he was here and came to take him home. This place seems so quiet without him around."

"I'm sure he'll get back here one way or another." Roy said with a smile.

"If he doesn't, we'll just have to use your powers of persuasion to get Sephiroth to give us a mission in my home town." Rex chuckled.

"Do you live in the same town as him?" Alec questioned.

"Yeah."

"Cool. So, what's this about Roy's powers of persuasion?" Alec turned to Roy with a grin and a raised eyebrow.

"He's being stupid. I don't have any powers of-"

"Sephiroth does pretty much anything Roy asks him to." Rex cut in with a smile.

"How come?" Alec asked with a frown.

"He _does not._ And this is the end of that conversation, thank you very much." Roy said angrily. There Rex went again with his stupid jokes about Roy's true identity. Rex loved the fact that he could joke about so much without giving anything away.

"Come on, I was just being silly." Rex said with a whine in his voice.

"Go be silly somewhere else." Roy snapped, moving to sit on his bed and pulling out the book about guns they had been given a while ago. It would be a good idea to try and at least learn _something_ about guns before they were tested on them.

"Am I missing something?" Alec asked.

Rex snorted. "A brain?"

"Hey!"

Roy sighed in relief as the two began to banter between themselves, forgetting about Rex's previous jibe concerning Sephiroth. Roy really didn't need Alec wondering about the Sephiroth situation.

Just then, Cloud came back into the room, walking as if he was in a daze. Actually, he looked like he had just been scarred to tell the truth.

"Spike?" Roy asked before he could stop himself. Calling the blond by that nickname had finally rubbed off on him.

"Mm?" Cloud asked quietly.

"Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Oh, no," Cloud shook his head and the strange look dissipated. "I just... Zack found me."

"And you're _alive_?" Roy gasped sarcastically. Cloud laughed.

"It wasn't actually Zack that had me all freaked out. He just ran up and started asking me about how I was doing and asked me for my name because he forgot and was just calling me Spiky. But then Angeal, a 1st Class, came over and yelled at him for wasting time. So he ran back to a Turk he'd been talking to and who was on the phone."

"Wow. What happened then?" Roy asked.

"Angeal gave me the honour talk."

"Oh my gosh! Isn't it terrifying? I've gone through that too." Roy said enthusiastically, nodding his head.

"Yeah, it was really weird." Cloud agreed, then leant in closer. "So, who's the new guy?"

"Oh! C'mere." Roy grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged him over to Rex and Alec, who were still bantering.

"Nu-uh!" Rex said to Alec.

"Guys. Shush." Roy said loudly to grab their attention. "Alec, this is Cloud. Cloud, meet Alec. We're now all room-mates."

"Nice to meet you." Alec said, extending a hand to shake Cloud's.

"You too." Cloud said.

"Hey Roy, do you think I should call Davis to see if he's heard anything else from Zack yet?" Rex asked suddenly.

"Um, it's been like, ten minutes." Roy said with a frown.

"Half an hour!" Rex corrected.

"Whatever, look Rex, I don't think we'll get any more news until tomorrow at least." Roy said with a sigh.

"Fine, I was just asking." Rex said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"News on what?" Cloud asked curiously.

So Roy and Rex explained that Zack was apparently working on trying to get Davis back at ShinRa.

"Hey, that must be what was going on when Zack found me! Reno was talking about a _lot_ of gil on the phone... do you think they're trying to bribe Davis' dad?" Cloud asked.

"I hope so!" Rex snapped. "It's probably the only thing that'll work."

Roy stayed silent, his eyes narrowed in thought slightly. He didn't understand why Sephiroth was helping him hide his identity, or why Sephiroth had decided to ask Zack to try and get Davis back. Usually no one at ShinRa cared if a grunt or two dropped out, or were even taken back by their parents.

So what was the difference with this situation?

"Are you alright?" Rex asked, a smirk on his lips as Roy came out of his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah." Roy nodded.

"Sure?" Rex teased.

"I think we need to talk."

And suddenly Roy was dragging Rex to the door and down the corridor before finally stopping and turning to stare at him. Rex actually looked frightened now and Roy chuckled.

"I just want you to stop with all the teasing, okay?" Roy said.

"As if! I can't do that, how will I be able to have fun?" Rex asked with a groan.

"Rex, you're going to make them ask more questions than necessary!" Roy protested in annoyance, but he could tell Rex wasn't going to let up.

"I don't see why you're so worried about this."

"Because if they start asking questions I'll probably end up having to tell them as well!" Roy snapped angrily. "At this rate, the whole of ShinRa is going to end up finding out and I'll be sent home by Lazard!"

"Roy, I didn't-"

"Ooh, are you two talking about a secret?"

Roy and Rex turned, startled, to see Jinx walking up with wide and excited eyes. He had a friend beside him, Jensen Bailey, who had midnight blue hair that was heavily layered on the top with a longer layer on the bottom, reaching to just below his shoulders.

"Of course not." Roy said.

"Really? I've heard a lot of things about you, Peters. Davis seemed to think you had a secret as well. But at that time Rance was asking to know... so did you tell him?" Jinx asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Roy began walking back to his room, hoping Rex would follow, but Jinx didn't seem very eager to give up so soon.

"If you don't tell me I'll ask Reno. _He_ knows your secret." Jinx taunted.

"Go ahead and see if he'll tell you." Roy called over his shoulder, deciding not to think about the possibility that the Turk could disregard the orders from Sephiroth to keep it a secret.

"You sound confident that he won't tell." Jinx said.

"That's because there's nothing _to_ tell." Roy sighed.

"Then why are we talking about this?" Jinx asked with a frown, putting his hands on his hips.

Roy looked over at Rex in exasperation, who snorted in amusement.

"Come on Jinx, leave them alone." Jensen spoke up, trying to get his friends attention again. The boy with blue hair had never spoken much to Roy, Davis, Rex or Cloud because his last name began with a B and the grunts were split into two main classes according to their last names.

"Yeah, fine. I'll find out Roy's secret eventually anyway."

Jinx lingered a moment longer before turning and walking with Jensen around a corner and out of sight, allowing Rex and Roy to enter their room peacefully again.

Alec was staring at Roy strangely when they walked in before quickly looking away and trying to pretend he hadn't been staring at all. He then glanced over at Cloud, who shrugged before glancing at Roy and then turning away.

Roy felt like a deer caught in headlights. What were the looks for? What was going on? Did Alec think Roy was a girl and had told Cloud of his thoughts?

"Is everything okay?" Roy finally asked, finding his voice.

"Yeah, absolutely." Alec said a _bit_ too quickly.

"No, really, what's up?" Roy asked more firmly.

"Yeah guys, even _I_ saw those looks!" Rex agreed, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows.

"It's nothing!" Alec said desperately. "Cloud just... filled me in on something I wasn't aware of."

"Which was?" Rex asked as Roy squeaked in horror.

_Cloud knows!?_

"Uh-" Alec floundered and swallowed a few times nervously, starting to wring his hands together. What was his problem?

"Spit it out or I'll be forced to torture it out of you." Rex cracked his fingers.

Thankfully no one believed him.

Unfortunately that meant Alec was no closer to telling.

"It's really not important." Cloud spoke up, trying to come to Alec's rescue. Well of course, he was in on it!

"If it's not important, why won't you just tell?" Roy asked angrily. He was confused, because he thought that if Alec believed he was actually a girl that he wouldn't have hidden it and would have acted differently. So if it wasn't that... what on earth could it be?

"Fine!" Alec groaned. "We just started talking about Davis because I wanted to know more about who he was, and Cloud warned me that he's your boyfriend. That's it. I'm sorry, I guess he just wanted me to know so I wasn't weirded out if he came back and... yeah."

Rex burst out laughing while Roy stared in horror at his best friends brother, who now believed him to be gay.

What a depressing situation.

"Cloud, may I have a word with you outside?" Roy hissed in an almost whisper.

"I was wondering when it would be my turn." Cloud mumbled jokingly, trying to hide a smile as he walked out of the room.

Roy clenched his hands into fists and then walked out as well, shutting the door firmly behind him and staring at Cloud.

"I'm sorry." Cloud said.

"What did I tell you?" Roy asked.

"Um, that you didn't know what I was talking about? Come on Roy, I'm not stupid. I _know_ you two like each other." Cloud folded his arms stubbornly and Roy was momentarily annoyed that the blond had gotten so comfortable around him that he wasn't as intimidated any more.

"That doesn't give you the right to tell Alec lies." Roy said.

"So it is a lie?" Cloud asked. "You're not actually going out with Davis?"

Roy opened his mouth to speak and then stopped, glaring angrily at Cloud. He didn't want to lie... but would it really be lying? _Roy_ wasn't going out with Davis, _Kayli_ was. So it wouldn't be a lie, right?

"No, I'm not." Roy finally said.

"Okay. Then again, I'm sorry."

"Promise me you'll drop this?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I promise. I just feel like you hide so much from me all the time." Cloud murmured with a small shrug of his shoulders, making Roy feel guilty immediately.

What would the blond do when he found out Roy was actually Kayli?

And that Davis, Rex, Sephiroth, along with _countless_ others, already knew?

Deciding not to think about that possibility, Roy nodded at Cloud and then walked back into their room.

Thankfully things became semi-normal after that and Roy was able to relax a bit. Flopping down on his bed, he rolled over to see where he had placed his phone down on his pillow. It slipped down the pillow and rested against his nose, allowing him to see the screen.

A vibration interrupted his peacefulness and he saw an envelope begin flashing on the screen to show he'd received a message. Sitting up, he grabbed the phone and clicked to open the message, reading it quickly before suddenly paling and drawing in a sharp breath.

_ Leaving for work now, but had to tell you. Just heard my parents talking. Dad saw Liam in Wutai on his last business trip._

Quickly deleting the message so that no one else would possibly find it, Roy swallowed and wrote a reply.

_ What was Liam doing in Wutai?_

Roy waited nervously for a few moments, holding his phone tightly in his hand. Finally, another message flashed.

_He's joined the rebel army._


	19. Chapter 19

He stared out over the landscape, his expression harsh and unyielding. A chewed cigarette hung out of the corner of his mouth and trailed a thin line of smoke into the air. The sun was beginning to set now, meaning it would be easier to travel undetected.

"Kuja-ta," he called mockingly over his shoulder before turning and facing the twin brothers who stood there. Kuja and Kuta were identical in every way and could not be told apart by anyone except for this twenty-two-year-old. Kuja-ta was what most people called them, but this man called them by it rarely and only ever for his own amusement. "Go get Sergei."

Turning, they both walked back to the tent which had been pitched and ducked inside to find the other man. It wasn't very long before Sergei exited the tent and stepped up beside his companion, also staring out at the landscape.

"Yes, Lee?"

"We need to start moving out. That way by the time the sun has set we'll be in their midst and able to use the darkness to our advantage." Lee said, spitting out his cigarette and grounding it into the dirt with his shoe. Their plan for that night was to attack the nearby group of ShinRa Infantrymen who were camped at the bottom of the hill.

Ever since Wutai had been conquered, ShinRa felt the need to have a constant presence in the country.

The Wutai rebellion armies had a different view point.

"I'll gather everyone together, then." Sergei was about to go back to the tent when Lee turned and fixed his gaze on him, a crazed glint making itself known.

"Tell Yakov to prepare his extra bag." The words were spoken softly, but the intentions behind them were clear combined with the look in Lee's eyes. Sergei also knew what was contained in Yakov's extra bag, so there was no question of what Lee was planning.

With a nod, he left and entered the tent.

Kuja and Kuta were sitting to one side and there was a pack of cigarettes lying on the ground in front of them. One of the twins had a cigarette between his lips, but Sergei had no idea which one it was. He only ever saw one smoking at a time and assumed if he found out which one did, he'd be able to tell them apart from then on. Unfortunately they never told.

"Yakov," Sergei said, moving to where the other man was holding a wire between his teeth as he clicked two other things together. He was their bombs expert. Spitting the wire into his lap, Yakov looked up.

"We leaving now?" he asked.

"Soon. Grab your extra bag, but swap the extravagant for the flash."

Sergei then moved over to Tarou, the groups gambler, who was studying the cards he held as though they held the secret of the universe.

"Tarou, put them away. We're going to need you." Sergei knelt down and grabbed the man's bag, pulling a map out and then shoving it into the man's lap.

"I already told you where their camp was," Tarou grumbled, shoving his cards into his bag and then picking up the map. "The foot of the hill."

"Is there another close by? One that might hear or see some fireworks from here?" Sergei asked. As well as being a gambler, Tarou was incredibly good with maps and had somehow gotten his hands on one which showed all of the ShinRa camps within Wutai. There were hundreds, but the ones which had already been taken out had crosses through them.

"Ah," Tarou said, realising what Sergei wanted to happen. "Depending how high the fireworks shoot, the camp on the other side of this hill might see. Probably wouldn't hear it, though. I think these ones might hear it and come running." Tarou pointed at a camp not far from the one they were planning on attacking and Sergei nodded thoughtfully.

"We'll need to be ready for them, then." he said before standing again and heading back out of the tent.

Lee was standing in the same spot he had been when Sergei had left, but now he had his gun out and was examining it. There was a blood stain on the end of it where he had knocked someone unconscious once, but other than that it was mostly just dirt which covered it.

"Everyone's ready to go." Sergei said quietly.

"Good. Tell Yakov I want him up the front with me." Lee shoved his gun back in his belt and stretched. "Tell everyone we've got five minutes to take the tent down."

Sergei left again and Lee reached into his pocket for another cigarette. Scowling when he realised he'd run out, he then followed after Sergei and entered the tent, looking for Kuja and Kuta, who still sat at the side, only one smoking. It was Kuta who was smoking, but only Lee knew that they both did and simply took turns. Right now, Kuja's pinky and ring-finger of his left hand were twitching with need.

"Kuta, pass me one." Lee said, squatting and putting a hand out. The twin in question chuckled and grabbed one from the box at his feet before placing it in his superior's hand.

"You have a plan then, Liam?" Kuja asked with a raised eyebrow, brushing some of his hair out of his eye. The twins' black hair which reached just below their shoulders was streaked red and blue on the ends in a random order.

Lee smirked and stood up properly again, lighting his cigarette and then putting it in his mouth and breathing deeply. Then he nodded and walked out of the tent again, leaving them to pack up their things and take down the tent.

* * *

When Davis showed up at ShinRa a week later, Roy couldn't stop the girlish scream that came out of his mouth before he ran across the cafeteria room and hugged his friend tightly.

"How?" Roy blurted out.

"Zack and Reno." Davis laughed, pushing Roy off him. "But please don't do that again."

"Davis!" Rex came running up, dragging Alec behind him. "Meet Alec! The guy who stole your spot in our room! Sorry, you'll have to find somewhere else now."

"Don't be stupid," Cloud said. "There are two extra beds at the back."

"Yeah, nice try Rex." Davis laughed.

"Whoa!" Roy said, eyes widening as he looked down at his watch. "We have exactly five minutes to get to our next class! And it's all the way over in the other training block!"

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Rex gasped in horror.

"I didn't notice until just then! But come on, if we don't start going now we won't make it in time. And if it's Brawn taking the class, we'll be skinned alive!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Roy before moving out as one to try and reach the training block quickly. Brawn already did his best to make their lives miserable, so they didn't need to help him at all!

But who knew, maybe Brawn wouldn't even be taking their class that day. Maybe it would be someone else. Someone nicer.

Entering the training block two minutes late, they all groaned. Brawn was standing in front of the rest of the grunts who had actually gotten there on time and had his hands on his hips angrily, staring them down.

"Let's see," Brawn growled. "What would be a suitable punishment for someone who has been late a total of _five times_ to my classes already?"

The group shifted nervously, wondering which one of them he was talking about.

"Rance, ten laps now."

Rex had known it was coming. Something about facing class with Brawn had settled a subconscious fear in his mind which made him try, without realising, to be late so he wouldn't have to spend as much time there.

"Have fun." Davis murmured teasingly, smirking at his friend. Rex poked his tongue out and then took off running around the edges of the large room.

"Now," Brawn snapped. "As I was saying. Today you will be undergoing a simulation of a real mission against Wutai soldiers. There are already Infantrymen there as we speak, but one day some of you might be sent all the way over there as well, so you need to be able to learn how to handle yourself. Plus, teamwork is a necessary skill to learn."

Roy had frozen as soon as he heard 'Wutai soldier' and now could not bring himself to move again. He should have known it would happen, but now that it had he wasn't sure if he would be able to do this.

"Through that door is where you'll be going. Since you're grunts you don't get the simulation machine, but we've got other things set up for you. You will be fighting against real people. Any questions before I send you to your death?" Brawn's lips twisted up in a sick smile as he looked around at all the grunts who were practically wetting themselves already.

When no one spoke, Brawn only looked happier.

"Alright. Get a move on then! Grab a gun or sword from the side of the room and then move _as a team_ through the door." Brawn instructed, pointing to where some guns and swords were propped against the wall beside the door.

As Davis walked past, Roy managed to reach out and grab onto him tightly.

"Uh, wait for me!" Roy said quickly when Davis turned to him with a frown. Davis didn't seem convinced that that was the reason he had grabbed hold in the first place, but they continued on anyway.

Roy took a sword from the stand, but Davis picked up a gun. No surprise there. Looking around, Roy noticed that Cloud and Jensen had also picked up swords, but that Alec, Jinx and the majority of everyone else had chosen guns.

Wimps.

The whole group then slowed down and looked at each other, before they all seemed to take a deep breath and began moving through the door into whatever waited for them on the other side.

Knowing it wasn't possible, Roy still couldn't help but fear what would happen if Liam showed up in there.

_ Liam, why couldn't you have died, too?

* * *

_

Lee nodded in approval at the bag Yakov had slung over his right shoulder, glad to see that his orders were being carried out. The tent had been packed up in the set time also, and now the rest of their small army were standing around waiting to be told to start moving.

"Are we waiting for something?" Qurt, who Lee often just called 'Q' despite the fact that his name was pronounced 'Kurt', spoke up from towards the back of the group. He had no defining skills like Yakov or Tarou, but he was an excellent fighter.

"No, not any more." Lee said. Then he began walking off, knowing that everyone else would follow without having to be told. Thankfully Yakov had managed to keep up with his stride and was still beside him, so Lee wouldn't have to yell at him.

"Are we going in by surprise?" Yakov asked after a moment.

"They're only Infantrymen," Lee scoffed. "Whether we surprise them or not they won't stand a chance."

"Yes, but am I throwing or planting?" Yakov continued.

"Throwing. Take out the one on watch first and then aim through a window. I want them to have time to feel the fear before they die."

Yakov fell silent then and Lee was proud of himself. He enjoyed testing the others limits to see how much they could stand before they began to think he was sick and twisted. Weren't they all sick and twisted, though? In their own ways of course. But Lee knew they all were.

Some even more than himself.

When they were finally almost at the bottom of the hill, Lee signalled for everyone to stop and turned to face them.

"Get into position and remember what I said before. Keep quiet, then await my orders."

Crouching down, the Wutai army successfully blended in with their surroundings until they couldn't be seen any more. But they could see the house being used by the ShinRa Infantrymen quite clearly.

Sergei turned and caught Yakov's eye, giving a hand signal and then moving his head to emphasise his point. Yakov understood what was being said and nodded, holding his bag tightly and waiting.

Then Sergei turned to Tarou, who was just behind him, and gave a nod.

Lee glanced over as he saw movement from the corner of his eye and frowned. Tarou had just stood up and cocked his gun, closing one eye as he aimed. It would be pointless to try and tell him to stop now, and beside, this would be a much more effective way of getting the job done. Lee would never admit that, but it was true.

Tarou fired one shot. One loud shot. The Infantryman on guard outside the house didn't even have time to cry out as he crumpled onto the ground.

Then Sergei signalled to Yakov and he was up and running, getting closer to the house before pulling something out of his bag and throwing it with all of his might. Just as the small bomb flew through one of the windows, another Infantryman was seen coming around the side of the house.

Yakov turned and fled back up the hill, covering his head and diving behind a thick bush.

The building blew up, sending wood and flames into the air as everything was engulfed. The one Infantryman who had come outside, however, was thrown sideways.

Lee looked up from where he had shielded himself and smirked, watching his favourite kind of fireworks slowly falling back to the ground.

"Qurt, get down there and finish off the stray!" Sergei yelled over his shoulder. Qurt quickly leapt up and pulled his gun out, running past them all and making it to the Infantryman who was lying on the ground gasping for air.

After the next gunshot, the rest of the group picked themselves up and walked down the rest of the hill to join Qurt. It had been a success.

"Tarou, which direction is the other camp?" Lee asked.

"It's over there." Tarou pointed.

"We'd better start heading out to meet them. They're probably already on their way as well, having seen the fireworks." Sergei said.

It wasn't long before they all started walking off again, tense and with their guns out in preparation.

It wouldn't be hard, though. Infantrymen were easy to kill.

* * *

The training room had been constructed to look like a forest, with actual trees all over the place. It was impossible to see the other side of the room and Roy found himself panicking slightly, moving closer to Davis for comfort.

One of the other Infantrymen who Roy didn't know very well turned and signalled to everyone, trying to act as a leader. Roy and Davis found themselves moving out to one side with another Infantryman they didn't know, keeping silent as they kept an ear out for an enemy.

_He's in Wutai. He's not here. Relax._

For some reason, Roy's own reassuring words weren't working very well and he found his breathing speeding up despite his efforts to slow them down again. He tried so hard to concentrate and breathe evenly, but his nerves were playing up and his mind wouldn't stop reminding him of his past, torturing him.

"Davis, I can't do this." Roy whispered quickly, grabbing onto Davis' arm and trying not to collapse. He had been doing so well up until now! Gemma's text message had scared him, yes, but Wutai had seemed like such a long way away. It felt so much closer now.

"What are you talking about? R-Roy? You look like you're gonna faint!" Davis hissed back, eyes wide in fear for his best friend and disguised girlfriend.

"Feel like it too." Was all Roy managed to say before the small black dots in front of his vision that he hadn't been quite aware of before completely covered his sight and he fell against Davis, who cried out and quickly held on tightly to keep him up. The sword Roy had been holding now lay on the ground.

The other Infantryman turned at the sound and gasped, rushing over.

"What happened? Was he attacked?" he asked.

"No. Look, I'm sorry but I have to get him out of here. He just panicked." Davis explained quickly, already beginning to drag Roy back through the trees. The other Infantryman frowned before nodding and squaring his shoulders, turning back around to continue with the mission.

When Davis reached the door and pushed it open, Brawn instantly stood and came striding over. He wasn't impressed to see that two Infantrymen were coming back already and was ready to give them a good yelling to make them understand that they couldn't just abandon a mission like that.

Then he noticed one of them was unconscious.

"What happened, Davis?"

"He just collapsed! I'm not sure, Sir, but he looked like he was having a panic attack and then just passed out." Davis explained, fear clear in his eyes as he continued to hold Roy up.

"Lean him against the wall and head back in, Cadet. I'll wait for him to wake up and ask him what happened. You need to get back to your mission." Brawn said, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, Sir." Davis said before gently sitting Roy against the wall and then moving back over to the door, about to step through again.

"If anyone else faints, leave them where they are." Brawn said gruffly just as the door closed behind Davis.

Focusing his eyes on Roy again, Brawn folded his arms. He'd always thought there was something weird about the Peters boy, but hadn't thought about it much because every Infantryman had their own differences. But passing out after not even a full minute of being in there? He couldn't have even encountered a fake enemy, yet.

Brawn sighed and moved back to his seat where he had been doing some paperwork. He'd wait for the boy to wake up and then question him until he got an answer.

* * *

Just as they had predicted, the Infantrymen from the nearby camp had heard the explosion and set out to see what had happened. Lee could see one inching forward, seemingly hidden, amongst the trees from where he stood.

Turning, Lee searched until he found where Kuja and Kuta were standing and then caught their eyes, giving a hand signal and waiting for them to respond. Synchronised, they gave affirmative signals and then began moving forward, overtaking Lee as they went.

The Infantryman Lee had spotted was quickly eliminated, but he had given a cry in his last moments and Lee knew the rest of the Infantrymen would now be aware that the enemy was close.

Stepping out of the shadows, a figure in red caught Lee's eyes and he gasped in horror.

There was a SOLDIER there.

Hurriedly, Lee whistled for Kuja and Kuta, glad to see them returning quickly at his call. Neither he nor his comrades had expected a SOLDIER to be amongst the Infantrymen, so the situation called for a quick plan B. Or an evacuation.

Sergei moved up beside Lee and shook his head slightly.

"I'm not backing down." Lee hissed quietly.

"We have to. We don't stand a chance against a 1st Class SOLDIER." Sergei murmured, keeping his eyes fixed on the figure who had obviously stepped into view deliberately to create fear.

Lee curled his lip in anger and suddenly had his gun up, focusing on his target before letting the bullets fire in an attempt at hitting the SOLDIER.

The red-coated SOLDIER easily dodged them by using his sword and smirked, his eyes fixed on Lee's position as he had been able to see where the bullets came from.

"Are you trying to get us killed?" Sergei snapped angrily before grabbing his shoulder and forcefully dragging him away. Lee snarled but allowed himself to be dragged back into the trees, knowing he couldn't argue with Sergei right now.

Unfortunately, the other man was right. They weren't prepared enough to take down a SOLDIER just yet.

But in time, they would be.


	20. Chapter 20

Rex slowed to a jog as he came to the end of his tenth lap, hoping that Brawn would be too engrossed in his paperwork to notice anything different. Rex was heading straight for Roy, who he had run past seven times already. This time he was planning on stopping and talking to him to see if he was okay.

Glancing over at Brawn nervously, he dropped to his knees and gripped Roy's shoulders, shaking him gently.

"Roy, you okay?" he whispered. Roy's eyelids fluttered before opening and his eyes focused on his friend.

"Rex..." he mumbled.

"Yeah, it's me. What happened?" he asked urgently. Any second Brawn could look up and notice him.

Roy's eyebrows creased together in fear and he looked away from Rex, beginning to tremble.

"Kayli," Rex said, leaning closer slightly. "You can tell me!"

Kayli slowly shook her head, biting her lip and closing her eyes. She couldn't deal with this any more. She wanted to go home and forget any of this had happened. She wanted to forget about Liam again.

"Hey! Rance, get up."

Rex sighed and slowly stood, stepping away from Kayli while still keeping his eyes on her. She looked so frightened... but what of?

"Peters, stand up." Brawn demanded, walking over and putting his hands on his hips. Roy swallowed before pushing himself to stand, straightening his stance and opening his eyes to stare right back at Brawn.

"Sir-"

"Quiet, Rance." Brawn snapped.

Rex scowled and folded his arms, annoyed that he wasn't being allowed to speak.

"Peters, I want to know exactly what happened in there." Brawn said.

"I'm sorry, Sir," Roy said quietly. His face was pale and whether he realised it or not, he was swaying slightly. "I just-"

Roy swallowed again and his face scrunched up in disgust, his eyes closing.

"Roy?" Rex asked, stepping forward slightly and putting a hand on Roy's shoulder. Roy's body trembled again and suddenly he threw up.

On Rex.

Brawn stepped back, eyebrows raised.

"Ew!" Rex exclaimed, letting go of Roy's shoulder and stumbling back. Roy was mumbling apologies under his breath while keeping his eyes closed and still swaying.

"Rance, go get yourself cleaned up." Brawn instructed, taking control of the situation. "I want you to take Peters to the infirmary on your way."

"This is _so gross_!" Rex said, holding his nose as he reached over to Roy's arm to drag him out of the room.

As the two boys left slowly, Brawn couldn't help but chuckle. It was Rance's own fault for getting in the way.

Outside, Rex was trying to get Roy to the infirmary as fast as he could so that he could get out of the smelly clothes that had him feeling like he needed to throw up as well. Thankfully, they made it before he actually did.

"Please take him off me!" Rex said as soon as they walked through the doors. Quickly, some medical staff moved forward to take Roy and led him over to a bed to lie down.

Not waiting around any longer, Rex ran off. He needed to get it off him before he really _did_ throw up as well. That would not be good. Not at all.

* * *

Spending almost an entire day in the infirmary when you're not even sick is incredibly boring, and Roy was glad to get out of there in time for his last class of the day. He'd finally managed to calm himself down and no longer wanted to turn and run every time he thought of Wutai or Liam.

Hopefully no one would ask questions.

The last class of the day was a new one, so Roy had to look around a bit before finding the room, but it was clear which room it was once he saw the other grunts hanging around outside the door. Making his way over, he joined Davis and the others silently, hoping they wouldn't say anything to him.

"Roy! Are you okay?" Davis asked immediately.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roy nodded and spoke quietly.

"I can't believe you threw up on me." Rex said in disgust. He'd already explained what had happened to the others so they didn't look shocked when he said this now.

"I'm sorry." Roy mumbled.

"Don't say sorry! It's not your fault you were sick." Cloud spoke up, narrowing his eyebrows at Rex. "No one gets a choice of whether they get sick or not."

"Well, what if someone knew they were gonna get sick if they ran out and stayed in the rain for a while, but did it anyway? Wouldn't that be their choice?" Rex asked, putting his hands on his hips. Cloud glared at him and then turned away.

"You know what I mean." he muttered.

Davis was watching Roy carefully, not believing that it was simply 'feeling sick' which had caused him to back out of the mission. If you were feeling sick, wouldn't you just say so?

Thankfully they were let into the room then and Roy didn't have to answer any more questions. Surprisingly, it was another SOLDIER who was taking this class, but Roy hadn't met him before.

"Everybody sit down quickly and settle down," the SOLDIER instructed firmly. "My name is Kunsel, but before I explain any more I want to show you something."

All the grunts sat down quickly, keeping their mouths closed as they were thoroughly interested already. Kunsel moved to an overheard projector and pressed something on it before turning off the lights in the room. A picture of a soldier camp was now up on the front wall, showing some of the soldiers standing around.

"Study this picture closely," Kunsel instructed quietly, as if speaking loudly would interrupt their concentration. "And then I'm going to ask you a question about it."

Roy frowned as he looked at the picture, wondering what sort of questions could be asked about it and what the whole point of this was. He could see a man holding a large gun standing just outside a tent and there was a man with no weapons standing beside him, appearing to be talking to him. Two other men were seen slightly further away, holding smaller guns, and gazing out in a way which suggested they were on watch. There were a few other men dotted around here and there, but none that seemed to strike Roy as important.

"Now," Kunsel said loudly, walking to stand just beside the picture. "Any volunteers to tell me who is in charge in this picture?"

The room was silent. No one seemed particularly keen to voice their opinions.

"Maybe if I let you discuss with a partner? Come on, try and figure out amongst yourselves who is in charge in this picture. Think of it as a discussion. Feel free to talk out loud to everyone."

Kunsel folded his arms and waited, watching the dark faces of all the grunts who seemed cautious to speak up.

"Uh, is it the guy with the huge gun?"

Davis had found the courage to speak first.

"Who else agrees?" Kunsel asked.

"I do," another grunt spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess."

Kunsel nodded slowly as he gazed around at them, but then he shook his head and turned the light back on, turning off the projector.

"You're wrong. It's not the man with the big gun." he said. Flashing a huge grin not unlike Zack's, Kunsel put his hands on his hips. "So, this is the class where you'll be learning all about reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. By the end of the week, I want you all to be able to look at a picture similar to the one I just showed you and be able to tell me exactly who is in charge right away."

Rex raised his eyes in interested and leant forward slightly.

"If you ever have any questions during my lessons, you can ask as long as you're polite about it and don't interrupt people. Also, I'm trying to convince the higher-ups to let me take you out to the field so you can have some hands-on experience, because that definitely helps." Kunsel continued to grin. "First off, I want you to tell me some stuff. What do you think of Sephiroth?"

"He's weird." Davis coughed to cover up the words, smirking as he looked sideways at Roy, who rolled his eyes.

"Actually, I agree," Kunsel said seriously, looking over at Davis. "But what about him do you think is weird? Specify."

Davis shifted awkwardly in his seat, not knowing what to say. He thought Sephiroth was weird for helping Roy out, but he wasn't about to say that.

"He's so serious! All the time." Rex said.

"Why do you think that is?" Kunsel asked.

"I dunno." Rex shrugged and looked away.

Another grunt in the class then piped up, "Well he always acts like SOLDIER is everything to him and that's what inspires me to try harder. Because I wanna be a SOLDIER so I feel like I have to do the same."

"So you think he's serious because he's doing something he loves doing?" Kunsel asked, pulling up a chair and sitting on it so that he was more comfortable for their talk.

"Didn't he grow up here?" Davis asked cautiously. "Because if he did, then SOLDIER is all he knows. He'd hate to stuff it up since there's nothing else out there for him."

Kunsel shifted uncomfortably but nodded, wondering how he would be able to steer the conversation in the direction he wanted without making it seem like he was hiding something from them. "Are you all afraid of Sephiroth?"

Mumbles 'yes's reached Kunsel's ears and everyone seemed to lower their heads, but Roy just shifted down in his seat slightly and stared at his desk.

"Why are you afraid of him? No need to be shy."

"He's Sephiroth!" Cloud said, as if that answer was good enough. Everyone laughed and Kunsel nodded his head enthusiastically.

"You're absolutely right! But what is it about being 'Sephiroth' that strikes fear into people?" he asked.

"Well it's because he's so serious!" Rex shrugged, grinning. "Other than that... he just has so much authority. It's like, if you do anything wrong around him he could get you kicked out of ShinRa."

"Does everyone agree with that?" Kunsel asked, and everyone nodded their heads. "Alright, that's good. I'm very pleased with how quickly you reached that conclusion."

Kunsel paused to smile again and watched as everyone furrowed their eyebrows slightly in confusion. He loved making grunts confused.

"What conclusion? That he can kick us out?" Davis asked.

"That's part of it," Kunsel nodded. "But the main thing is that he has authority. Who do you know has more authority than him?"

"President Shinra!" Rex said in a 'duh' tone.

"Anyone else?" Kunsel asked curiously.

"Director Lazard." Davis said with a small shrug.

"So, Sephiroth's pretty high up there in terms of authority?" Kunsel asked them.

"He's the best SOLDIER, so of course he's high up!" Cloud said, sinking in his seat slightly after saying that because Kunsel looked at him.

"But does ability always mean someone's going to be at the top? I don't think President Shinra's _ever_ done any fighting. What are your thoughts?" Kunsel asked.

"Of course it's the person with the most money who's at the top." Rex shrugged.

"Yeah, if you don't have money no one's going to listen to you because you can't bribe anyone." Davis said, then his eyes widened. "Not that I'm saying President Shinra uses bribery!"

Kunsel laughed. "I know what you're saying."

The other grunt who had spoken before spoke up again, "Money isn't everything though. Sephiroth isn't known for having money but everyone respects and fears him. So I think the two main things that get you a lot of authority are money and power."

"Nice!" Kunsel said, nodding at that grunt. "I'm glad you picked up on that."

The rest of the lesson was spent with Kunsel asking them still _more_ questions about various people in ShinRa and making them voice aloud their opinions of who had more authority and why. By the time they were let out, they couldn't stop thinking about the subject.

"I can't _wait_ 'til we have another lesson with him!" Rex exclaimed as they walked back to their room. "Reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. Gosh, that sounds like fun!"

"Does anyone else feel like they just wasted an hour?" Davis asked with a joking laugh. "Come on, all we did was gossip about the higher-ups. Kunsel probably uses the lessons for his own personal gain."

"Hey! He was getting our minds working so that we'd be more open to things he tells us later, I reckon!" Rex defended.

"You sure? He sounded like he only cared about knowing what we thought of Sephiroth, President Shinra and all the others." Davis shook his head lightly and shot Roy a grin. "He didn't even talk about the picture he showed us at the beginning again. It was like he completely forgot about it."

"Give the guy a break! I say he's got an awesome teaching method and you should leave him alone." Rex snapped teasingly.

"Any day now you're gonna announce you wanna be a Turk and there'll be no hope left!" Davis laughed, stepping ahead of them to enter their room. Rex abruptly stopped walking and stared in horror, while Roy's eyes widened and he glanced back at Rex in worry. Cloud walked past them nervously and disappeared into the room.

Davis walked back out again.

"Rex?"

"Sorry, uh, thought I heard something." Rex said, attempting to cover up his shock and moving to walk past Davis. But his friend wasn't accepting that and grabbed his arm to push him back again.

"You want to be a Turk, don't you?" Davis asked.

"What? Why would I want to be a Turk?" Rex laughed nervously.

"That's what I want to find out. You were always talking about joining SOLDIER." Davis said quietly. "Look, if it's what you really want then that's fine, but why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry! I just..." Rex shrugged and looked down at his feet.

"Some people are better at different things." Roy spoke up. "Rex, I think you'd make a great Turk."

Rex glanced over at Roy nervously and smiled thankfully, but it was obvious he still wasn't quite comfortable again yet.

"Yeah, uh," Davis shrugged. "You'll be great."

"You're not mad?" Rex asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Nope." Davis grinned then and Rex let out a huge sigh of relief. "Come on, I can't get mad at you! You're my best friend! So what if we both don't become SOLDIERs? We'll both be part of ShinRa at least!"

"I agree!" Roy said. "And it's better to do something you're good at than something you're only doing because you wanted to once."

Davis and Rex nodded in agreement before pausing and looking over at Roy, eyebrows raised.

"What?" Roy asked, now the nervous one.

"You sure you still wanna be a SOLDIER?" Davis teased.

"Better question is, you sure you still wanna be a _male_ SOLDIER?" Rex asked with a grin.

"Hey! I'm planning on revealing my gender once I become a SOLDIER! The whole point of this is to prove that girls can do it too!" Roy protested.

"Right, just remember that you don't have to do this just because you wanted to _once_." Rex snickered and Davis covered his mouth to stop from laughing.

Roy scowled. How dare they use his words against him?

But soon enough he was smiling as well and rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Come on, let's get inside before Cloud wonders whether we've died." Roy said, pushing his friends ahead of him into the room.

Cloud and Alec were both in there and Alec was doing squats.

"Hey!" Alec said as he stood up, before bending his knees. Standing straight again, he said, "Zack said," He went down. Then came up. "That doing squats," He went down. Then came up. "Is a great way," He went down. Then came up. "To train!"

Continuing to do squats now that he'd finished speaking, he grinned at them.

"Sweet!" Davis said, moving over and beginning to do squats as well even as Rex and Roy stared at them with wide eyes that questioned their friends' sanity.

"Uh, Cloud? Which side are you on?" Rex asked, not moving his eyes from Davis and Alec.

Roy was beginning to wonder how Gemma had managed to get away with none of the weird genes Alec had.

"Hey, don't bring me into this!" Cloud said, looking up from where he had been reading a book.

"Traitor!" Alec said as he came up. Then, in-between his squats, he said, "Cloud always does them early in the morning before any of you guys have woken up! And whenever you're out of the room he does them, too."

Roy laughed. "Cloud, you're a morning person?"

"Only sometimes." Cloud mumbled, going back to his book, but then saying, "Thanks a lot, Alec. I wanted to stay on the sidelines."

"Sorry Spiky!" Alec grinned.

"It's not possible to stay on the sidelines when at ShinRa," Roy said. "Besides, Sephiroth would probably shoot you for saying that."

"Oh yeah!" Alec said suddenly, stopping his squats and looking over at Roy. "I was wondering, did you wanna go check on Kayli together? I was gonna go see her again but thought I'd wait for you. I mean, you're the one related to her."

Roy blinked, confused.

"Oh, no," Rex said, shaking his head. "Roy's really busy. He said he was going to help me find something in... the ShinRa libraries! Remember? Come on, Roy."

"M-maybe later?" Roy squeaked out.

"Okay..." Alec said slowly, watching as Rex dragged Roy out of the room.

"Weird, aren't they?" Davis laughed.

"Incredibly." Alec sighed, going back to doing squats.

Cloud stared at the door Roy and Rex had left through, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in thought. He wasn't sure... but he had an idea as to why Roy always acted so strange.


	21. Chapter 21

It was too early to be awake. But she couldn't sleep.

Rolling over onto her side, Kayli stared out at the room, only being able to see shadows because of how dark it was. She knew who was in which bed, though.

Sighing quietly, she turned to lie on her back again and stared straight up, trying to block a memory from her mind as it tried it's hardest to torment her. Unfortunately, she knew it was working. She also knew there was only one thing she could do to stop its' effects.

That would be to channel her feelings into something bad, but she didn't want to do that. She wanted desperately to be able to let go.

_He deserves to die._

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kayli tried to make the voice go away. She needed complete silence without being interrupted by the voice which kept telling her she should do things she didn't want to do.

_If you ask Sephiroth he'll send you there. It'll be easy._

Finally deciding enough was enough, she swung her legs over the bed onto the floor and reached around until she found her bag, rummaging within it to try and find her phone. Once it was in her hand she stood and walked over to the door, leaving silently.

Having memorised the route, she quickly made her way up to the small balcony she had used the last time she had to make a night-time call and dialled Gemma's number.

"Beep-beep-beep! I'm hangin' up 'cause whoever y'are needs to go back to _sleep_!" came the very frustrated and sleepy voice of Gemma.

"Gemma." Kayli said quietly, hoping her friend would stay long enough to hear that and realise who it actually was.

There was a grumble and then a crash, before the click of a light turning on sounded and Gemma sighed.

"Yeah?"

"I can't do this any more."

There was silence for a few minutes as both girls thought about the situation.

"Is this because of what I said about Liam?" Gemma asked quietly, the sleepiness gone from her voice completely now.

"Yeah." Kayli confirmed softly.

"It doesn't change anything, Kayli," Gemma said. "He's heaps far away from you and hopefully you'll never even cross paths with him."

"I'm training to become a SOLDIER, Gemma, they're going to send me to Wutai sooner or later." Kayli pointed out.

"Just ask Sephiroth not to let you go!" Gemma exclaimed.

"He'd want a reason."

Gemma sighed again and the sound of her flopping down on her bed came through the phone.

"So you wanna come home?"

"Yes and no. I don't want to leave my friends, but I can't do this." Kayli said. "I just... I keep seeing him in my head and thinking about going to Wutai, and part of me wants to kill him and-"

"Okay, shush." Gemma said firmly. "Firstly, while you are at ShinRa he _cannot_ get you. Understand? Secondly, if you go crazy and decide to track him down to kill him, I am not paying for your funeral. Thirdly, your parents have begun worrying about you now."

"Oh my gosh. Are you serious?" Kayli gasped.

"Well you've never been gone longer than a few months before so they're beginning to wonder." Gemma said honestly.

"I can't come back, then." Kayli said, her voice suddenly powered by something strong. "If I do, I will have wasted my time like all the other times I left and only ended up going back."

"You mean... you're _never_ coming back?" Gemma asked nervously.

"Not if I can help it." Kayli admitted.

"Then... what are you gonna do about Liam?"

"I-I don't know." The strength disappeared in her voice and once again she was frightened, so she sat down and leant again the railing of the small balcony, closing her eyes. "I can still see his face, Gemma!"

"Maybe... maybe he's changed?"

"Don't give me crap like that, Gemma," Kayli hissed. "If he's seriously still alive then he'll be the same cruel person he was back then."

"Do you want me to come see you again? I could just say I'm visiting Alec." Gemma suggested cautiously.

"No I- I have to deal with this on my own. It'll prove that I can be a SOLDIER." Kayli said.

"As long as you'll be okay," Gemma said, her voice betraying her worry.

"Like you said, what could happen to me here at ShinRa?" Kayli gave a light, fake laugh.

"Please let me know if you need me there to just be some support, okay? I'm guessing you haven't and won't tell anyone else what happened." Gemma said.

"You guessed right. If you hadn't been around when it happened you wouldn't know, either." Kayli said with a sigh. "But okay, if I need you I'll let you know."

"Get some sleep now, okay?" Gemma urged gently, hoping her friend would take her advice.

"Yeah, I probably should." Kayli consented. "Talk to you later, yeah?"

"Absolutely. Sleep well, Kayli!"

"You too. Sorry about waking you up again."

Kayli hung up then and stayed where she was for a few minutes, holding her phone in her hand and keeping her eyes closed to just enjoy the cold night air which hung around the balcony she was on.

Finally, though, she stood and went back to her room, recognising that she did need to get some more sleep before the morning came.

The room was still as dark and quiet as it had been when she left, so she did her best not to disturb any of her room-mates as she put her phone back in her back and lay down under the covers, tuning her thoughts to what classes she had the next day.

Swimming, guns and something else which she couldn't remember. She tried to picture her timetable in her head so that she would be able to figure out what class it was that had slipped her mind, but before she knew it she had fallen asleep and her mind took a turn for the worse.

* * *

"Roy? Get up!"

_"Get up right now!"_

"Roy, you're gonna be late!"

_"I don't want to hear you complaining! Shut up and quit your crying!"_

"Davis, just leave him."

"No! He'll get mad. Roy! Come on! Wake up!"

_"Murderer! Don't touch me!"_

A blood-curdling scream suddenly ripped through the air and Roy jerked into a sitting position, eyes wide in fear. Davis and Cloud hurriedly stepped back, before Davis moved forward again.

"Roy? Roy, are you okay?" he asked.

Alec and Rex were standing in the background with worried expressions on their faces as they watched.

"I... I..." Roy swallowed and stared down at his hands, shaking. He couldn't do this anymore. It was going to kill him.

Again.

"Do you want the others to leave?" Davis asked quietly.

"Yeah," Kayli nodded feebly after pushing her nightmare far from her mind. "I need to... talk to you."

Davis turned to face the others and shrugged slightly, glad that he didn't have to say anything as they began filing out quietly. Then it was only him and Kayli in the room and he turned back to her.

"Were you having a nightmare?" he asked softly.

"Yeah." Kayli admitted.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" he asked.

"I... can't. I've been trying to let go of it for years now and if I talk about it I'll never be able to put it behind me." Kayli murmured. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Do you want the day off classes? I'll have to take you to the infirmary if you do." Davis reminded her softly.

"No, I want to go to class."

"So," Davis swallowed and sat on the edge of her bed. "What did you need to talk to me about, if it's not your nightmare?"

"I can't stay here." she whispered.

"What do you mean?" Davis asked immediately, eyes narrowed.

"I know that I wanted to prove girls could be SOLDIERs too, but maybe I'm not the right girl to do that. Because I... I can't do this." Kayli explained slowly. "I'm not strong enough."

"You're the strongest girl I've ever met." Davis said, lowering his head.

"It's not only that, but pretending to be a guy all the time is tiring. I don't want to do it anymore." Kayli admitted. "My parents are worried about me too. I promised myself I wouldn't go back... but now I have to. I obviously can't stay here."

Davis was silent for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn't understand what had suddenly brought Kayli to this conclusion.

"Seriously... what was in your nightmare?" he finally asked.

Kayli stiffened and swallowed turning away her head and biting her lip nervously.

"I just want to help you! But I can't if you won't talk to me about anything." Davis said in exasperation.

Kayli didn't speak for a few minutes. She didn't know what to say at first because talking about Liam to someone else would only make it much more real. For now she could almost pretend it was make-believe.

And she didn't want it to be real.

"Davis," she whispered. "I have a brother."

Davis shifted so that he could look at her again. "Is his name Roy?"

"His name is Liam and he's a Wutai soldier." Kayli said, closing her eyes.

"Oh," Davis said quietly. "Are you... are you afraid of being sent to Wutai and having to kill him?"

"Yes, but only because it's what I really want to do." Kayli murmured, her voice coming out as a sob as she felt her throat constrict. Why did she have to get to the point of crying when Davis was around!?

"Wha-what? You want to kill your brother?" Davis asked in confusion, moving closer to her and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"I also-" Kayli sniffed. "I also had a brother called Roy. He was my twin." She paused to squeeze her eyes shut and tried to ignore the tears which escape and rolled down her cheeks.

"Wow." Davis breathed out. "Wait... had?"

"He's dead," Kayli spat. "Because of Liam."

Finally breaking and letting out a sob, Kayli turned and buried her head in Davis' shoulder, clutching onto him tightly as she cried.

"R-Roy always w-wanted to go to ShinRa and become a SOLDIER." she mumbled against his shirt. "If he couldn't then I-I wanted to do it for him!"

Davis was silent as he held Kayli and let her cry. He couldn't believe what she'd just told him and wished he knew what had happened to make her so firmly believe that her brother Liam was responsible for her twins' death.

"It's gonna be okay," Davis finally said. "I've got you."

"I'm sorry." Kayli whimpered.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Davis scolded gently. "I still don't know everything, but to me it seems like you're only acting in a completely rational way to what's happened to you."

"Yeah, because wanting to murder my brother is rational." Kayli scoffed.

Davis narrowed his eyes slightly and remained quiet for a bit, waiting as Kayli calmed down completely and was finally silent as she rested against him, no longer crying.

"I don't think you should go to classes today," he whispered finally. "Stay here and I'll make up some excuse to cover for you."

"Davis, I don't want you to-"

"Quiet." Davis ordered. "Don't argue with your doctor."

Kayli pushed away from him just enough to look up and raise an eyebrow at him. There was a small smile on her face which showed that she was amused and he grinned back.

"So, _Doctor_," Kayli mocked. "How long are you putting me under house arrest for?"

"Until lunch." Davis replied seriously.

"Davis, I'll be okay." Kayli began to protest again.

"So why were just crying and telling me you wanted to go home? If you're going to be okay, does that mean you've changed your mind and you'll be fine to stay and become a SOLDIER now?" Davis asked, no humour on his face or in his eyes.

Kayli looked down and didn't answer.

"I'll take that as a, 'Sure Davis! I'll stay and become a SOLDIER!'" Davis said when she kept silent.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you." Kayli whispered.

"What? Kayli, don't say that. I'm only trying to help!" Davis pleaded with her.

"Yeah, well it's not much help with you trying to tell me what to do! I need to make up my own mind, but I can't do that when other people keep saying things." Kayli snapped.

Davis sighed and stood up.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave you to choose, then."

* * *

Genesis exited his tent, holding his PHS to his ear as he scanned the terrain around him. He was talking to Sephiroth but also checking to make sure the Infantrymen stationed with him there in Wutai were doing a good job of keeping watch.

"Well, yes," he said in response to something Sephiroth had said. "But I know they'll be back."

"And you're sure it's the same ones who attacked the supply truck last week?" Sephiroth's voice came through.

"Seph, I have mako vision, remember? I could see the guys' face from where I was standing." Genesis sighed.

"And you're absolutely positive that he wasn't in charge?"

"He sure acted like it, but it was his superior who stopped him and made him leave." Genesis responded. "I'm telling you, these are the guys we've been after."

"Keep on their trail, then," Sephiroth said after a pause. "Find out where they're heading and make sure you stop whatever they try to do next."

"I thought you'd say that." Genesis rolled his eyes.

"Why did you even call me, then?" Sephiroth asked curiously. "Seeing as you're _obviously_ smart enough to work out these things for yourself."

"There's just one other thing I wanted to ask you about," Genesis said, turning and walking back inside his tent. "When I stop them, do you want me to capture them all so they can be brought to ShinRa and questioned? Do you just want me to kill them? Let them go but ruin their plans?"

"I don't think the President would be too pleased if he found out they'd been killed." Sephiroth pointed out.

"No, but I still thought it was worth asking." Genesis laughed.

"As for which of the other two," Sephiroth said thoughtfully. "I'd try to capture them. They could have a lot of useful information for us."

"Alright, I know who I'll be focusing on catching more than the others." Genesis said.

"Well yes, if you get their leader they'll quickly fall apart." Sephiroth said.

"I wasn't actually talking about him." Genesis said quietly. When Sephiroth didn't respond immediately he sighed. "The one who thinks he's leader but isn't was actually who I was planning to focus on."

"Why do you think that's the best thing to do?" Sephiroth asked carefully, knowing not to shoot down his friends idea right away in case there was some good reason which he hadn't thought of before.

"This guy that I think would be useful also looks incredibly familiar," Genesis said. "At first I couldn't place where I'd seen him before but today I remembered. That's also part of the reason why I called you."

"Who does he look like to you?" Sephiroth asked.

"I can't exactly remember the name, but one of the Infantrymen who only recently joined. He's got black hair and acts really weird." Genesis described.

"Roy Peters?" The frown on Sephiroth's face could be heard through his voice.

"Yeah, that's his name." Genesis agreed.

"And this Wutai soldier looks like him? How much?" Sephiroth enquired.

"Just like an older version," Genesis shrugged. "I seriously wouldn't be surprised if they were actually related."

Sephiroth was silent for a moment and Genesis sat down as he waited for a response.

"Your top priority is capturing the whole group," Sephiroth said finally. "If that can't be done you're to aim for the leader and this other man."

"Understood." Genesis said with a nod.

"I want you to keep what you've told me quiet, Gen," Sephiroth said slowly. "I'll be talking to Roy about whether he has any brothers."

"Okay, sure." Genesis said.

"Good luck."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: This chapter is a little bit scarier than the others, so I thought I'd just put a warning at the beginning so that you knew what you were entering into. It doesn't get much worse than some blood though, so it's not too bad.

* * *

_ "Kayli! Quick, over here!" Giggles were smothered as a small boy pulled his head behind a tree trunk after calling out. He loved to tease his sister._

Kayli hurriedly pulled her boots on, trying to keep the memories out of her head. But the harder she tried to fight them the stronger they became.

_"Roy! Where are you?" Kayli called out in a whine. She had her hands on her hips and had given up searching already._

_ "Over here!" came a quiet voice. So quiet, in fact, that she would _never_ be able to tell where it was coming from. But at least she knew he was somewhere nearby._

Finally finishing with her uniform, Kayli stood and grabbed her bag, beginning to make her way towards the door. She had made her decision and there was no way she would change her mind again now. Nothing anyone said could sway her.

She pushed the door open and stepped out into the corridor, empty as everyone was still eating breakfast.

_"You'll never catch me!" Roy yelled, darting out from where he had been hiding and sprinting as fast as he could towards the beach which was nearby._

_ "Hey!" Kayli snapped angrily before following in hot pursuit. She would not allow her twin brother to get the better of her!_

_ When Roy reached the sand he started laughing and threw his head back, enjoying the feel under his feet, the sun on his face and the sound of the waves rolling against the shore. Kayli soon reached the sand as well and shook her head. Roy had slowed down so she was easily catching up to him now. It wouldn't be long until-_

_ "Gotcha!" Kayli screamed, grabbing his arm and dragging him down before the two of them proceeded to roll down the beach a few paces before coming to a stop. Now _both _were laughing._

She shifted her bag again and continued walking down the corridor. She didn't want to have to speak to anyone else about what she had decided, but Davis would probably question her when they crossed paths. The others' curiosity would be perked then and they'd all want to know what was going on.

She didn't want to tell them, though. She'd never wanted to tell anyone.

_"Hey, Kayli?"_

_ "Yeah, Roy?"_

Entering the cafeteria, Kayli looked around for her friends before seeing them sitting at their regular table. She then made her way over and quietly sat down beside Davis, who glanced up at her in surprise.

_"I wanna be a SOLDIER." Roy whispered._

_ "What? Really? That would be so cool!" Kayli exclaimed, rolling on her side to face him and grinning excitedly._

_ "Yeah, I'm gonna become really strong and I'll save people from dying." Roy puffed himself up slightly in pride._

"Roy? You okay?" Alec asked, sitting across from her at the table. He was fitting in really well with everyone and Kayli was glad to see that. He'd already become really close to Rex.

"Uh- I'm fine." Kayli murmured. She could feel Davis' eyes on her and wished he would look away. Didn't he know that if he kept being so obvious they would ask more questions?

"You hungry?" Davis asked then, and pushed his food towards her.

"Yeah, thanks." she nodded slightly and accepted what he hadn't eaten.

_"Whoa, quick, we'd better get back or mum'll have our heads!" Roy suddenly yelled, shoving himself off the sand and turning to help Kayli up as well._

_ "It's crazy how time always goes so fast when we're out here!" Kayli pouted, folding her arms as the two of them trudged back the way they had come. Their house in Junon wasn't too far __from the beach so they wouldn't have much distance to walk._

_ "Yeah, and time in general. I can't believe we're already nine!" Roy replied with a grin._

_ "Ten next year!"_

_ "I know! Double digits!"_

"Yeah, so if we have to form groups we'll be stuck again." Rex was saying and Kayli tried to clear her mind so that she didn't zone out again. Davis was still glancing over at her nervously every few moments but she did her best to ignore him.

"I wish I'd met Edvard," Alec said. "He sounds like such a character!"

"Oh, he is. Right, Roy?" Rex turned to Kayli and she smiled.

"Yeah, Edvard is really awesome." she agreed with a small nod as well. Rex then turned back to Alec and continued to talk to him about their swimming lesson that day.

"Kayli?" Davis whispered.

"I'm fine." she shot back quickly, shoving some more food in her mouth then so that she hopefully wouldn't have to say anything else.

"I... wanted to know if you're staying or not." Davis continued hesitantly.

Kayli swallowed her food and then slowly turned to face him. "I am."

"Really?" His face was immediately much brighter than before and Kayli had to fight the urge to laugh at him. He was like a puppy lifting its ears at the sound of food filling its bowl.

"Yes, really." she smiled. "I can't quit on Roy. I have to become a SOLDIER no matter what happens to try and stop me. I guess... I passed the first test, right?"

"Hey, I'm gonna be here for you the whole way okay? If you need anything I'll get it for you. If we're sent to Wutai I'll protect you. Understand?" Davis said hurriedly but still quietly.

"I know, Davis," Kayli said. "I know."

"I'm also really glad you told me about your brothers," Davis muttered. "Even if you might wish you hadn't."

"Yeah, well," Kayli turned to her food again. "I haven't actually told you all of it."

"Um... you don't have _another_ brother do you?" Davis asked cautiously. Kayli giggled and shook her head.

"No, I don't. But I'll tell you what you still don't know a bit later. I'm starving!"

"What are you two whispering about?" Rex snapped suddenly, having looked over and noticed their hushed voices.

"Nothing." Davis and Kayli said at the same time before both blushing and looking in opposite directions. Alec raised an eyebrow while Rex sniggered.

Cloud was sitting at the end of the table and a small frown on his face. In fact, he had been sitting like that for the past five minutes since Kayli had arrived and sat down. He was now _certain_ he knew what was going on and actually felt quite proud of himself. The reason he was frowning was because he couldn't understand how Roy could be sitting there with him and Kayli, who Cloud thought was the same person, could be in the infirmary at the same time.

"Did you say your cousin was in the infirmary?" Cloud piped up.

Kayli jumped and looked up at him. Her mind whirred to figure out what he was talking about and then her eyes widened.

"Oh yeah! Do you wanna go see her before swimming?" Alec asked, already half out of his chair. "Gemma will kill me if she finds out I only ever visited her best friend once."

"Uh, actually," Kayli said. "She was sent home. A few days ago."

"Really?" Alec sank back down into his seat and Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Kayli nodded her head.

"Too bad for her," Alec grinned. "Having to leave ShinRa."

Kayli remained silent then and finished up the last of her food, following her friends out of the room as it grew close to the time they were expected to be at the pool ready for their lesson.

As they walked, Cloud hung back with her and Davis, making it impossible for the two of them to talk about anything. But then, they were both shocked at what happened.

"Hey, Roy?" Cloud said quietly, glancing to make sure Rex and Alec were absorbed in their own conversation before continuing. "I know who you are."

Kayli didn't know what to say to that and by the look on Davis' face he didn't either. The two of them shared a quick glance before Kayli turned back to Cloud and watched him expectantly, waiting for him to say something else.

He cleared his throat and then said, "I know that you're not gay now, because you're a girl."

So the blond had figured it out. Congratulations! That meant Kayli had still only ever told one person – Rex.

"You think so?" Kayli asked cheekily, deciding to string him along a little before giving in.

"Yes, I do." Cloud said firmly, stunning Kayli with his confident tone. "You're Kayli."

Davis shook his head lightly in amusement and turned away, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was leaving this situation completely up to Kayli.

"Well," Kayli said slowly and calculatingly. "You're right. I am Kayli and I am a girl. Are you gonna tell anyone?"

"No! Of course not! It's your secret to tell if you want to." Cloud said quickly.

"Good." Kayli smiled happily, all worries gone from her mind. There was something about talking to Cloud that always made her feel better. Maybe because he was so innocent all the time.

"How'd you figure it out?" Davis asked, looking across at the blond boy.

"Oh, well, since Roy- I mean Kayli was so adamant she wasn't gay I kept trying to figure out why you'd be close but not in a relationship. Then I noticed her voice sounded a bit strange sometimes, in terms of male voices I mean. Anyway, it was her saying that 'Kayli' had been sent home which confirmed it for me." Cloud turned to face Kayli. "You said it to avoid working out a way for Alec to visit her with you beside him didn't you?"

"Wow!" Kayli exclaimed. "You make me feel like I've been doing a terrible job of hiding it! You're absolutely right!"

"No, I didn't mean it like that. You're doing really well at hiding it." Cloud said, shaking his head.

"Thanks, Spiky." Kayli grinned.

"Um..." Cloud tried to ignore the nickname he had been called. "So how many other people know?"

Davis snorted.

"Actually... quite a lot when you think about it." Kayli said sheepishly. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, but everyone who knows found out by themselves except for Rex and I only told him because he was going nuts and threatening to end our friendship."

Cloud's eyebrows were risen high on his head in astonishment but he didn't say anything.

"Come on, we're almost there." Davis interrupted them, gesturing ahead where they were approaching the doors to the indoor pool. "We should continue this talk later."

The three friends fell into silence as they entered the room behind Alec and Rex, making their way over to the change rooms where they would then change into their swimming clothes. Kayli smiled at Davis' worried expression and dumped her bag on a bench before stripping off her shirt, boots and trousers.

Underneath she was wearing the swimming clothes. Davis laughed as she then left her stuff in a pile and walked out of the room again.

* * *

_ "Roy! Liam's back!" Kayli exclaimed, running to the room that she shared with her twin brother and finding him sitting on his bed with paper and a pen in his hands. He looked up as she entered._

_ "Now?" Roy asked excitedly, pushing the objects onto the bed beside him before standing up and following Kayli back out, through the house to the front door. Their parents had gone quickly to buy the weekly groceries so Kayli and Roy had been left by themselves for the time being. With their brother back, they wouldn't be alone._

_ Their seventeen-year-old brother was walking towards the house with a scowl on his face, but the twins did not drop their smiles. Liam was always away for long amounts of time with his friends and rarely came home, so this was an exciting event!_

_ "Liam!" Kayli called, making her older brothers' head lift and notice them for the first time. He stopped walking and mumbled something under his breath which they couldn't hear, but they didn't care. He was back!_

_ "Liam, you were ages!" Roy exclaimed, running forward to stand in front of him. The younger boy tried to puff himself up to look like Liam and Kayli giggled at his attempts, still watching from the doorway._

_ "Get lost." Liam hissed angrily, shoving Roy aside roughly before storming past. Kayli quickly scrambled out of his way and he entered the house before making his way to his room and shutting the door._

_ "But Lee-am!" Roy whined loudly, stomping towards his brothers room loudly and holding the vowels longer than usual. "We wanna hang out with you!"_

_ "Well you can't!" Liam retorted through the door, his voice slurred slightly._

_ "Why not?" Roy asked._

_ "Because I don't like you! You're annoying, small and pathetic!" Liam growled._

_ "But I'm gonna become a SOLDIER!" Roy said proudly. "I've got the forms and everything! See, I've been filling them out so-"_

_ Liam's door opened and Roy grinned happily up at his brother, thinking that the talk of SOLDIER had gotten his attention._

_ "So then I can send them off and they'll ask me to come join! I might have to wait a bit until I'm old enough though." Roy finished._

_ "You wanna join SOLDIER?" Liam asked in a low, threatening voice._

_ "Yeah!" Roy nodded enthusiastically. Kayli was watching the scene from ten steps away and wondered whether she should warn her twin that Liam didn't look very excited at the news. But then she decided against it._

_ Roy needed to tell his big, inspirational brother his news and even if Liam wasn't excited, at least Roy would feel good about it._

_ "Well then we'd better celebrate that, hadn't we?" Liam asked, grimacing and slapping Roy on the shoulder._

_ "Really? You want to celebrate with me? That'd be great!" Roy said, shooting a smile at Kayli before looking back at Liam._

_ "Come on then. Let's go somewhere with easier access to fun stuff." Liam said, turning Roy around and steering him through the house to the front door, passing Kayli again._

_ "You're taking me out? This is so awesome! Kayli, come on!" Roy said excitedly._

_ "No." Liam said loudly. "She's not coming."_

_ Kayli paused from where she had been jogging behind them and looked up at Liam with sad eyes._

_ "Why can't I come?" she asked._

_ "Because you're a girl. We're going to go do man stuff." Liam said stiffly, shoving Roy into his car and then getting into the drivers seat._

_ "You can come next time, Kayli!" Roy said, hanging out the window to talk to his sister. His face was lit up with such thrill that Kayli couldn't help but feel happy for him as well._

_ "Okay, just have fun. Tell me all about it when you get back!" Kayli said as the engine came on and Liam took the car out and away from the house._

_ Kayli watched as Roy pulled his body back inside the car fully and then stuck an arm out to wave before pulling it in as well. Then they were around a corner and Kayli went back inside to find something to do while she waited for them to get back._

_ Wandering into her room, she looked over at the paper Roy had been writing on before and moved over to pick it up. It was a ShinRa form just as he'd said, and he'd already answered most of the questions._

_ One question that interested Kayli said 'Why do you want to become a SOLDIER?', although it was Roy's incredibly long response which was what caught her eye._

_ He'd written: 'I want to become a SOLDIER so that I can save people who need to be saved. I also want to become like my older brother, even though he's not a SOLDIER, because he's really strong and independent and I want to be like that. I want to show him that I'm not a kid anymore.'_

_ Kayli smiled and set the paper back on his bed again. If they didn't accept him into ShinRa for that reason, she didn't know what they _would_ accept.

* * *

_

Kayli surfaced above the water and gripped the edge of the pool, looking around to see that all the other infantrymen had reached the end at the same time. Davis caught her eye and grinned, flicking some of his hair out of his eye.

They were doing laps as Sephiroth had instructed. But just as Kayli was about to turn and swim back to the other side again as some had already begun doing, Sephiroth squatted down in front of her.

"Out of the pool now, Peters," he ordered before standing again and stepping back to give her room.

Nervously, Kayli pulled herself up and out, holding her arms around herself as the air was cool on her wet skin. Once all the others had gone under the water as they swam away, Sephiroth folded his arms and spoke.

"I need to know if you have any siblings." he said, straight to the point.

"W-what?" Kayli stuttered, confused. What was this about? She told Davis about Roy and Liam and suddenly Sephiroth's asking as well?

_Honestly,_ Kayli thought to herself,_ is there anything this man doesn't know?_

"Do you have a brother?" Sephiroth narrowed his question for her.

"Um, yes." she admitted, eyes darting left and right uncomfortably. "Why?"

"Do you know Genesis Rhapsodos?" Sephiroth asked, then continued after Kayli nodded to him. "I spoke to him the other day. He's in Wutai and reported seeing a man remarkably familiar. He and I both think it could be your brother. How old is your brother?"

Kayli felt her blood run cold and could no longer think properly. Thankfully, her brain went to auto-pilot and she didn't have to. The answers came with no thought at all.

"He should be around twenty-two."

"Should be?" Sephiroth questioned, frowning at her distant look.

"I haven't seen him in five years."

"Then I'm almost completely certain it's your brother in Wutai. He's become a rebellion soldier; did you know this?"

Kayli shivered slightly and she nodded.

"But I only found out recently. From a friend." she explained.

"Well, he's one of the most skilled soldiers in Wutai. The group he's leading has slaughtered many towns as well as some of our own Infantrymen who were stationed out there." Sephiroth said softly, wondering how much he should tell her. She didn't look well at all.

With a deep breath, Kayli nodded again. Her eyes were unfocused and suddenly she groaned, closing her eyes and stumbling to one side before her legs completely gave way and her head fell back.

Sephiroth caught her just in time.

"Sir!" Davis exclaimed, floating in one spot and staring over at the scene.

"Keep doing laps," Sephiroth demanded, scowling as he noticed all the others had stopped swimming as well and were watching in horror. "I'm taking him to the infirmary and then I'll be right back."

Davis watched fearfully as Sephiroth left the room. What had the General said to Kayli to make her faint?

* * *

_Kayli heard the sound of a car pulling up and grinned._

_ "Mum, I'm fine. Liam's just gotten back now!" she said into the phone. Mrs Peters had called to let her children know that she and her husband had met up with some old friends and were going to be out longer just to catch up with each other. Kayli had told her about Liam taking Roy out to celebrate and her mother had been slightly cautious at first._

_ "Okay, make sure you call me back once they're both inside. Go on and greet them like I know you want to!" her mum laughed and Kayli said a quick goodbye before clicking off the phone and running out._

_ Liam slammed the car door and began walking towards her._

_ "Liam!" she smiled and looked past him to the car, waiting for Roy to jump out. He was taking an awfully long time. "Where's Roy?"_

_ "Not here." Liam chuckled._

_ "What do you mean?" Kayli looked up at him where he had stopped walking right in front of her and tilted her head to the side curiously. "Did you leave him somewhere?"_

_ "Yeah, I did." Liam nodded._

_ "Mum's gonna be mad! Where is he?" Kayli asked, a bit more frantically now. She was never away from her twin for long and needed to see his smiling face again to know everything was okay._

_ Liam chuckled again and looked down at himself, lifting his hands slightly so that he could examine them better. "Such a little thing, he screamed so loud."_

_ Kayli couldn't tear her eyes away. Liam's hands were covered in blood and it was on his shirt as well. She didn't know how she hadn't seen it right away, but she supposed it was because he was wearing a black shirt and from a distance it just looked like water._

_ "W-wheres Roy?" she asked again._

_ "If he's not still crying he's dead." Liam said, roughly wiping his bloodied hands on his pants and moving to walk past her into the house._

_ That was when she screamed._


	23. Chapter 23

Lee closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the smell of his surroundings enter his lungs as he concentrated. He was absolutely certain they were being followed. Unfortunately, Sergei had been the first to notice and say it, but now that Lee thought about it and searched, he could see all the signs.

"What are we gonna do?" Qurt asked, running his fingers over his gun nervously.

"We have to throw them off our trail." Sergei said, glancing at Lee.

"Why don't we leave a surprise for them on the trail they're following?" Yakov asked curiously. "It might deter them."

"As fun as it would be to have them blow themselves up by walking on a mine, I think we should try to lose them for now. We can't waste any of our ammo until we reach the next town to get a feel for what we can get there and how much more we'll need to send for." Lee spoke up.

"How will we throw them off?" Tarou asked, shuffling his cards.

"We'll split into two groups and go in opposite directions, meeting up again at a known rendezvous point." Lee instructed. "Q, Kuja and Kuta will come with me. Tarou, Sergei and Yakov will make up the second group."

"Are you sure we shouldn't set off in smaller groups? They may be able to split up as well." Sergei murmured quietly, just loud enough for Lee to hear.

"We'll do as I say and that's that." Lee snapped, then jerked his head at the twins and Q before walking away from the group.

"See you at the town, then?" Sergei asked.

"Yes, at the town." Lee repeated over his shoulder, glancing to make sure his group was following. They were.

Kuja and Kuta had pulled out a cigarette packet and Kuja was now lighting a cigarette that was positioned between his lips. He'd only just flicked the lighter on when Lee suddenly spun around.

"Kuja, spit it out." he demanded.

The twin stopped what he was doing and raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked around the cigarette.

"They'll track us easier if you're dropping ash the whole way." Lee explained, narrowing his eyes at the challenging expression he was receiving from the dark-haired man.

"I don't care. I need to smoke." Kuja said, his eyes going back down to what he was doing as he flicked the lighter on again.

In the next instant, Lee had ripped a knife from his belt and lunged at Kuja, but was blocked by Kuta who struggled to hold him back.

"Give him a break!" Kuta hissed. "He can walk a different way for a while until he's finished it and then meet back with us. Then if they follow the ash they'll be led astray."

Lee gradually calmed down and put his knife back, still glaring angrily at Kuja who was glaring straight back. Usually they were fairly civilised towards each other, but Lee was feeling incredibly tense lately.

He was threatened by Sergei. The man continued to make comments about his plans and would often tell the others to do something different than what Lee had instructed in order to make their plan go smoother. Soon enough there would be a mutiny as they tried to appoint Sergei as leader.

So Lee had to prove he was better.

"Let's keep going," Lee said quietly. "And Kuja, you can walk parallel to us on that side." He pointed right and Kuja tipped his head before heading off.

"I'll go with him." Kuta murmured as he took a step backwards and then spun on his heel to walk after his twin.

Lee resumed his own walking and Qurt quickly fell in behind him, one hand on his gun as his eyes darted from side to side anxiously. He was fairly new to their group and hadn't entirely settled in, although he felt better around Lee just because the man had given him a nickname and made him feel accepted.

They walked in silence for a long while, focusing on covering distance and constantly checking to make sure they were still on course.

Then Qurt spoke.

"Can you smell smoke?" he asked.

"Yes." Lee confirmed, but didn't slow down at all.

"D'you think it's up ahead?"

"I know it is," Lee said and then pointed through some of the trees. "Look." Up ahead, in one particular spot, the trees were surrounded by what looked like mist but was identified as smoke from it's smell.

"What do you think it's from?" Qurt asked.

"That's what we're going to find out, Q." Lee grinned, speeding up as he was excited to reach the scene and find out what had happened.

When they got there, they found a large burnt-out fire which was still trailing smoke into the air, and Lee bent down to get a better look at it.

"They've left something here." Qurt said as he walked around the fire to where a bag was lying on the ground. He picked it up and pulled out what was inside before inspecting it to see if there was anything useful.

"Show me." Lee said, not looking up but trailing a finger through the black residue.

Qurt walked over and stood beside his superior, about to pass the object down when something caught his attention and he froze. His eyes widened in shock and he glanced down at Lee before looking at the object again.

"What's wrong with you?" Lee asked, standing up angrily and dusting his hands off on his pants before reaching to snatch everything from Qurt's hands.

"Sorry!" Qurt said as Lee managed to grab a photo from the objects. "Um... that's..."

Lee turned it over to look at the image and suddenly felt his blood go cold as his eyes took it in.

"He's dead." Lee whispered.

"You mean it isn't you, Lee?" Qurt asked with a frown. "For a minute there I thought you were hiding a past of being in ShinRa from us."

"But he's _dead_!" Lee yelled. "I killed him with my own knife! How could he be an infantryman?"

Anger boiling up inside him, Lee suddenly let the rage consume him and ripped the image up, letting out a cry of frustration as he did so. The torn bits of paper floated to the ground and Lee closed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists.

"I should have stayed to make sure he died."

"What are you talking about? Who is it?" Qurt asked, fear on his face as he watched Lee. He would hate to be on the receiving end of an anger like that.

"Little Roy," Lee said in a whisper, a smile curving his lips as a memory appeared in his mind. "My brother."

* * *

Genesis watched through the trees before turning and walking away silently. He had seen enough and knew that everything had gone according to the plan. Why Sephiroth had been hesitant at first, he still didn't know.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he quickly dialled his friend.

"Yes?"

"It's done. Now he knows." Genesis said simply.

"Nothing went wrong?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

"No. Why did you keep thinking something was going to go wrong? He saw it, freaked out, then told his companion that it was his brother Roy. Exactly what I thought would happen. What were _you_ expecting?" Genesis frowned.

"He actually said the name Roy to his companion?" Sephiroth asked in shock.

"Yes. Now if you don't explain to me what's going on right now I'm going to hang up." Genesis threatened, slowly getting further and further away from the two rebellion soldiers.

Sephiroth breathed out slowly before saying, "You might want to get comfortable for this story, Gen."

* * *

When Kayli woke up again there were five people around her bed. Narrowing her eyes in confusion, she looked around to see exactly who was there.

Alec stood at the foot of the bed with Cloud beside him. Davis and Rex were standing on her right and on her left stood Edvard! He was holding a clipboard stiffly and reading something written on it.

"Alec, you met Eddie." Kayli grinned, pushing herself into a sitting position and then turning to face the scientist-in-training. "It's good to see you again."

"Uh, yeah." Edvard stammered, going bright red.

"You're right," Alec laughed. "He's hilarious."

"So are you okay?" Davis asked, watching her closely. She smiled at him and gave a small shrug.

"Yeah."

Then she suddenly came to the realisation that everyone around her except for Alec knew that she was a girl. How awkward.

Poor Alec.

"Should we leave the love-birds to talk privately for a bit?" Rex asked jokingly, glancing between her and Davis. Davis gave him a sharp shove in the side with his elbow and Alec coughed awkwardly while Cloud and Edvard had no apparent reaction.

"Rex, if you keep that up-"

"Okay! I'm sorry." Rex said quickly.

"You should be." Kayli frowned at him and then turned back to Davis again.

"You gonna be okay to get out of here now?" Davis asked, glancing at Edvard briefly before back at Kayli.

"Well I feel perfectly fine so why not? But of course, we should ask my doctor. Are you being my doctor for today, Edvard?" Kayli asked, having turned her attention back to him again.

"Um yeah," Edvard swallowed and nodded. "Hojo suggested doing some training as a doctor to help with my scientific abilities."

"That's great!" Kayli said enthusiastically. "So am I free to go?"

"Well yes, since there's nothing wrong with you. Your fainting was not caused by any lack of oxygen but instead of distress, so as long as you feel that you're fine now and won't go into shock again you can leave." Edvard explained.

Kayli chewed on her lip nervously as she realised everyone was going to wonder what had freaked her out so bad to make her faint.

"Alright, let's go." she finally said, moving to the right and pausing as Davis stepped back before swinging her legs off the bed and standing up. Now that Edvard has spoken, she was also remembering what it was Sephiroth had said to her.

"Do we need to talk?" Davis whispered to her as they began walking to the door.

"Maybe." Kayli shivered and realised she was still in her swimming clothes. "How long was I unconscious?"

"Well swimming ended ten minutes ago." Davis explained for her.

"Great. Okay, I guess I'll meet you in guns soon. I have to grab my clothes from the-"

Davis pushed on her shoulders to spin her around and pointed back at the end of the bed she had been sleeping on, where her bag of things sat.

"Sorry, forgot to tell you." he said with a grin.

"Ah, thanks." Kayli laughed, walking over and picking it up. The two of them then left the infirmary to find the the others waiting outside and then they all walked towards guns, while Kayli tried to pull her infantry uniform on as they went.

"You are _nuts_, Roy." Rex announced after a few minutes as Kayli was hopping down the hallway trying to pull her boots on.

"Shut. Up!" Kayli managed to snap in between hops. She then had the hard task of trying to tie the laces while hopping and let out a loud groan, giving up. Her laces clicked quietly on the floor as she walked.

"Better luck next time?" Davis said with a chuckle.

"Thanks." Kayli rolled her eyes.

Continuing their way to guns, Kayli only tied her shoelaces when they were sitting down listening to their instructor yack about something which was apparently 'really important' for them all to know.

It was a huge relief to get out of that class. Cloud still believed that their guns instructor had it out for him, despite the fact that no one else could see any evidence for that during their lessons. Davis still loved the class because of his fascination with guns, and everyone else was the same. Although, Alec was having a bit of trouble surviving under his workload.

"Davis," Kayli whispered as they headed back to their room to dump stuff before going to get lunch. "I need to tell Alec."

Davis started in shock, eyebrows raised as he looked over at her. "I thought you were going to say something _completely_ different," he laughed lightly. "So don't worry about my surprise."

"Oh, well, I'll talk to you about that... later." Kayli shrugged. "But I don't want to lie to Alec anymore and I know he won't tell anyone."

"Okay." Davis nodded.

"That's all you have to say?" Kayli asked weakly, looking up at him for help.

"I'm sorry, what do you want me to say? If he's your best friends brother maybe you _should_ tell him. He'd probably appreciate it." Davis elaborated.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Kayli sighed.

With a laugh, Davis slung an arm around her shoulders. "Why did you tell me, then? Just go right on up and tell him!"

"No, I have to get him alone!" Kayli protested.

"Don't freak him out! Just-"

"What on earth are you two talking about _now_?" Rex exclaimed, spinning around and staring at Davis and Kayli, who froze like deer caught in headlights. "Honestly, can't you whisper mushy things to each other when we're not around?"

Alec turned away from the scene and hurriedly took the last few steps to the room before going inside.

"If only to stop Alec from almost dying every time Rex says something like that, you need to tell him." Davis whispered, making Kayli smile.

"I agree."

"Feel like sharing?" Rex snapped.

"Don't be silly, I'm not sharing Davis with you." Kayli joked before grabbing Davis' arm and dragging him into their room.

Alec looked up before quickly looking down again and busying himself with rummaging through his bag – but it was obvious he wasn't actually looking for anything.

"Alec, I have to tell you something." Kayli said quickly, knowing that if she didn't burst it out right away she'd _never_ say it.

"You know," Alec said, straightening up. "I'm cool with it, okay? It's none of my business anyway. You can-"

"I'm Kayli."

That definitely stopped Alec from saying whatever else he was going to say. He blinked a few times as if trying to figure out what had just happened and then frowned, tilting his head to the side in utter confusion.

"Huh!"

"I'm pretending to be a guy so that I don't get kicked out of ShinRa." Kayli explained a bit more, not wanting to overwhelm the poor boy with information but knowing that he couldn't survive with just two words.

"What? That's insane!" he suddenly exploded.

Rex and Cloud finally walked into the room and were just putting their things on their own beds normally before they realised something was happening and they stopped, looking over.

"Did you all know?" Alec snapped, turning to them. "That Roy is actually Kayli?"

Rex's face paled as he shot a glance over at Cloud. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the blond knew now, and was quite shocked to see Cloud looking impossibly calm faced with the situation.

"What?" Cloud asked, looking over at him.

"You know?" Rex gasped.

"Uh, yeah. It was pretty obvious after a while." Cloud shrugged.

"Great, okay. So you all _do_ know." Alex groaned, putting his head in his hands. "And you only felt like telling me now?"

"Well, you're my best friends brother... I figured that-"

"Wait! That can't be possible! Ages ago when we just came back from Costa del Sol and I was going to see Kayli in the infirmary you were in your room!" Alec exclaimed, eyes wide with pride.

"And you took the stairs because I called Se-_ome_one and asked them to knock out the elevators. Then they came back on so I could go up to the infirmary before you and that's how I did it." Kayli said.

"Serious?" Alec stage-whispered.

"Yup."

"What about in the helicopter? You couldn't have been in two places at once!" Alec accused.

"No, and I wasn't. I have a wig for whenever I want to be Kayli again and we had a SOLDIER flown in the night before going back who then wore my wig and pretended to be me on the helicopter. It was easy since he just had to sit there, rugged up."

There was silence for a while.

Alec was clearly trying to understand everything that had happened and Kayli almost felt bad for him, except it was so amusing.

"In case you were wondering, Kayli and I are going out." Davis piped up, grinning cheekily.

"Okay, I feel as though my brain is going to explode." Alec said slowly.

"When were you in Costa del Sol?" Rex asked curiously.

With a groan, Kayli grabbed Davis' arm again and dragged him out of the room, deciding to let everyone else cool down for a while.

Besides, it was about time she finished telling Davis about Liam.

He deserved to know.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys! Just a quick, important message.**

**I need questions for a questionnaire that I'm going to be doing, involving the main 3 (Kayli, Davis and Rex) as well as whoever else you want to know about. So please write a review with as many questions as you'd like to ask, and make sure to state who each question is to.**

**You can ask a question to _any_ of my characters, not the just the main three! So please send me lots because I'd love to be able to make it as interesting as possible.**

**The questions can be serious or stupid – whatever you want! Now, on to the story so I don't completely bore you!**

* * *

Kayli sat quietly as she waited for Davis to take in what she had just told him. He was staring down at his feet and hadn't said anything for a while, but she knew she had to give him time. She had explained the events of the day when Roy had died and now Davis knew just why she hated Liam so much. Because Liam had actually _killed_ Roy, and found it amusing.

Kayli let out a quiet sigh and leant her head against the railing. She had brought Davis to her secret balcony so that they could talk with no worries of anyone overhearing them and was now glad for the cool breeze which blew across her face.

She closed her eyes then, her mind recalling what she had just told Davis. It was good to tell someone else but now it all kept repeating in her mind and she couldn't escape it. After five years, it still haunted her. Maybe it was so hard because she was alone. She'd left her family and best friend behind so she had no support when she got to ShinRa. No one who knew her past and could hold her up when she remembered things.

But now Davis knew too.

Shivering slightly, Kayli gave a small jump when she felt a hand on hers. Opening her eyes again, she looked over to see Davis watching her and smiling sadly.

"It's gonna be okay."

* * *

_She screamed. With Liam inside the house she couldn't go in, but who was around to help her? She kept screaming, stumbling back away from the door and tripping over because she couldn't see anything - her eyes were blurred from all the tears which just kept coming._

_"Mum!" she managed to sob out, wiping her eyes and looking around the street to see who was around that could help her. But her neighbourhood friends' family had gone out._

_The sound of a door creaking reached her ears and she spun around again. Liam stood there, eyes narrowed in a scowl._

_"Quit your crying." he said. "You sound just like your brother."_

_"Get lost!" she screamed at him, and her heart leapt into her throat when he lifted his hand and began walking towards her. She screamed again-_

_But it was only a phone in his hand, not a knife like she had feared._

_"Your mother wants to talk to you."_

_Kayli was quiet for a moment._

_"Throw it." she finally whispered._

_Liam's mouth twisted in a smile and he took another step, making Kayli squeal and scramble backwards away from him. This only seemed to encourage him and then he was walking faster towards her, breaking out into a sudden run and grabbing her before she had time to start screaming._

_"Pathetic." he whispered._

_Kayli's throat had closed, making it impossible to scream at all now. Tears continued to stain her face and she knew she was going to die. She just _knew_ it. Why else would he be holding her arms to her sides, inhibiting her ability to move and smiling at her in that sick way..._

_He still had Roy's blood on his hands. It was now on her shirt where he was holding her._

_"Maybe you'll kill yourself this way," Liam murmured in interest. "The way you're hyperventilating..."_

_"Give me the phone!" Kayli suddenly screamed, pushing him away from her and snatching the phone from his hands. This was her last chance. She had to get her parents over there now so that they could get rid of Liam. "Mum?"_

_ She was walking backwards away from Liam, straining her ears to hear any sound of recognition from either of her parents on the other end of the phone line. But there was only silence._

_ Silence until Liam started laughing again._

_ "You believed me! You actually believed me." he shook his head in amusement, absent-mindedly wiping his hands on his pants._

_ In desperation, Kayli pulled the phone away from her ear and began racking her muddled brain for the number her parents had tried to drill into her ever since she could talk. It was for __emergencies, and this was _definitely_ an emergency._

___ "Do you really think they'll believe you?" Liam whispered as Kayli began punching in the number._

___ She ignored him, but shivered._

___ Holding it up to her ear, she listened for the ringing and trembled with desperation, waiting for someone to answer._

___ Liam was terrifying her the way he just stood there and kept smiling. He was _covered___ in blood and he was _smiling___._

___ Taking a deep breath and still waiting for a response from the other end of the phone, Kayli turned away from him. She couldn't keep looking at him and she knew that. If she did she'd have nightmares for the rest of her life._

So much for that.

___There was a click and the ringing stop. Kayli heard her mother begin to say 'Hello?' but suddenly there was an explosion of pain in her side and she screamed, looking down to see blood soaking her shirt. The phone fell from her hand as someone else's hand closed over her throat and began to squeeze._

___ "Never turn your back on the enemy." Liam whispered in her ear._

"Kayli? Kayli, can you hear me?"

___ "Roy!" she screamed, her body convulsing from the pain and her voice hardly coming out as her vocal chords were being restricted. "Roy!"_

___ "Go on, scream," Liam continued. "You'll join him soon anyway."_

___ Kayli tried to prize his fingers away from her neck, but he was too strong for her. She couldn't do anything!_

___ Suddenly he let go and pulled his knife back, watching her fall to the ground, head thudding against the dirt. Her eyelids fluttered and she breathed hoarsely, tears running uncontrollably from her eyes and blood still soaking her shirt._

___ "Get up." he ordered._

___ "No." Kayli whimpered._

___ "Get up right now!" Liam reached down and grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her up roughly and smiling as she screamed again, clawing at his hands._

___ "Stop it! It hurts! Let go of me!" Kayli sobbed._

___ "I don't want to hear you complaining!" Liam snapped in her face, scowling as she continued murmuring pleas. "Shut up and quit your crying!"_

___ Digging her fingernails into his skin, Kayli finally succeeded in making him let go. He dropped her again and she tried to crawl away._

___ "Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Liam yelled, bending down and reaching a hand out for her again._

___ "Murderer! Don't touch me!"_

___ The screech of a car sounded and Liam froze, looking up as his parents leapt out of their car and came running over.

* * *

_

Sergei had told Yakov and Tarou to wait while he checked ahead quickly, and now as he walked back to them he was certain of what had only been a guess before. They were being tricked. Yes, people were following them from behind, but there was someone ahead keeping track of them as well.

"We need to split up further." Sergei said as he came to a stop in front of them. "I want you two to continue the way we have been heading, but I'll take another detour. If you reach the town before me and Lee gets there, tell him I won't be long."

"What's wrong?" Yakov asked, shifting slightly and moving a hand to pat his pocket sub-consciously, checking to make sure his grenade was still there. It comforted him.

"Just do as I say."

With that, Sergei walked off through the trees and quickly disappeared, leaving Yakov and Tarou to glance at each other before shrugging and continuing on – it was the only thing they could do since Sergei was too quick to follow.

"Do you know how much further it is?" Yakov asked curiously, looking up at the tree branches above them as they walked.

"No, I don't," Tarou shook his head, pulling out his cards and shuffling them. "I wish I had a flat surface."

"Do you ever spend a day without those?" Yakov asked him, a teasing tone in his voice.

"The cards? No. They're my hobby." Tarou answered.

"So what are they telling you today?"

Tarou paused and raised an eyebrow at his companion, confused as to what the question meant. "Sorry...?"

"Your cards. They are Tarot cards, aren't they?" Yakov asked as he shifted the pack on his back slightly and waited for a response.

Tarou laughed out loud.

"No, they're not. These are simply the ones used in poker."

"Really?" Yakov asked in shock, both his eyebrows raising. "I always thought you looked at them everyday to see what they said about your future."

"No, no." Tarou said, still chuckling. "I'm just a gamer."

"Incredible." Yakov whispered, shaking his head. "It looks like my idea of you has been really wrong."

"It's okay, I don't-"

They were interrupted suddenly when a bullet whizzed past Yakov's shoulder and embedded itself into a tree behind him.

"Move!" Yakov ordered, shoving Tarou to the side as he pulled out the grenade from his pocket and pulled the pin, then threw it as far as he could. He turned to shield himself and only straightened again after the explosion.

"The town's just up ahead!" Tarou called to him, ducking from tree to tree to get to him.

"ShinRa must have gotten there ahead of us!" Yakov said. "Come on, we should swing around and see if we can find any of the others."

Moving back a fair distance so that hopefully they wouldn't be fired upon again, Yakov and Tarou began moving in a wide circle around the town, hoping to run into Sergei or Lee.

Soon enough, Sergei rejoined them.

"I heard the explosion," he explained. "What happened?

Quickly they explained and Sergei nodded in understanding. "I don't think there are many ShinRa men, so we could take them if we wanted."

"How can you be sure?" Yakov questioned.

"I'm never sure," Sergei said bluntly, staring at him. "I always just guess."

Yakov shifted and looked away from his gaze, wishing he hadn't spoken. Sergei always made him feel inadequate, even when saying something as simple as that.

"There's no time for self-pity," Sergei then said, as if he had read the man's thoughts like a wide-open book. "We need to move now so that they don't have a chance to attack Lee's group."

"Liam's group of two."

Yakov, Tarou and Sergei spun around to see Kuja and Kuta walking up. There was no sign of a cigarette anywhere, although there was a faint smell hanging in the air around them.

"What happened?" Sergei asked.

"He wouldn't let me smoke," one of the twins shrugged.

"So we walked off by ourselves." the other finished.

"So Qurt's still with him?" Sergei asked to make sure. The twins exchanged a short glance.

"Unless Liam killed him."

"Why would he do that?" Yakov piped up, frowning.

"He's in a bad mood, that's all," another shrug. "Hopefully he'll calm down by the time he arrives here. Anyway, what's the plan?"

As Sergei began to explain his plan to all of them, they listened intently to remember what they would have to do in order to carry out the plan efficiently and succeed in taking the town captive._

* * *

_

"Do you want to go get lunch?" Davis asked quietly, knowing it wouldn't do any good to talk about Kayli's past more now. He needed to get her mind off it anyway, because he could tell that she was still thinking about it.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Kayli nodded and stood up with Davis, the two then making their way to the cafeteria and over to the table that Rex, Cloud and Alec were sitting at once getting food. Surprisingly, Jinx and Jensen were also sitting at the table.

"Hey," Davis said as they sat down.

"You just missed Jinx's story about how he crept into Reno's room and stole his EMR!" Rex announced, looking up at them and grinning.

"Oh, as if." Davis laughed.

"No, I really did!" Jinx said. "I gave it back, though, which is why I can't show you the evidence."

Davis shook his head in amusement and began to eat his lunch, glancing at his watch to see how long he had until they needed to head off to guns. Which was, still, his favourite class.

"So..." Jinx folded his arms, leant back in his chair, and stared at Kayli. "You gonna tell me your secret yet, Roy?"

"Secret? What secret?" Kayli asked, also starting to eat and trying to act as innocent as she could.

"Come on, Roy doesn't have a secret." Rex laughed.

"Oh, really?" Jinx asked.

"Really." Rex nodded, looking down at his empty plate and smiling. Kayli couldn't help but smile as well, since she knew what Rex was meaning by what he said. Her 'secret' wasn't really much of a secret now, considering how many people knew.

"I don't believe you. Roy, tell me your secret or I'll make Reno interrogate you." Jinx ordered.

"Are you kidding me? Reno would never do anything for you!" Kayli laughed. "He almost killed you last time, remember?"

"He wasn't in his right mind!" Jinx snapped.

"Oh, next you'll be telling me he really _is_ your cousin." Kayli shook her head and took another mouthful of food. Jinx simmered silently for a moment before huffing and looking away.

"You're just jealous." he muttered.

"Guns is gonna start soon," Jensen said, beginning to get up out of his seat. "I'm gonna go grab something from my room."

Jinx nodded and then Jensen walked off.

"Don't you have something to do as well?" Rex asked Jinx, raising an eyebrow.

"You're right! I'm gonna go write a letter to my girlfriend." Jinx grinned, jumped up, and ran off.

"There is no way he has a girlfriend unless she's masochistic." Kayli sighed.

Davis grinned and glanced over at Cloud, wondering why the blond was so distracted. "Hey, Cloud? What have you got there?"

Cloud looked up from his hands and went bright red, gulping. "N-nothing."

"I dunno about Jinx, but Cloud sure looks like he's got a girlfriend." Rex teased, leaning over. "Let me see, Spiky."

"No!" Cloud quickly moved the letter to behind his back and continued to become redder and redder. "It's nothing."

"Can you at least tell us her name?" Alec asked, joining the fun.

"Keep out of my business!" Cloud said angrily, moving his hand to hurriedly shove the letter in his pocket and then standing up. "I'm gonna head over to guns now."

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Cloud," Davis said, making the blond pause. "I mean, I've got a girlfriend!"

Kayli smiled as Davis grabbed her hand.

"...She's not my girlfriend." Cloud whispered.

"But you wish she was, right?" Alec chuckled. Cloud coughed awkwardly and turned around, walking briskly out of the cafeteria.

"You're all so mean!" Kayli laughed.

"He'll get over it." Rex laughed, now also standing up. "Come on, guns will be starting any minute now."

Davis and Kayli finished the last bits of their lunch and followed Rex and Alec out of the room, back towards their room so that they could grab their stuff before heading to class.

Rex moved back to walk with Kayli, his expression turning serious and making her feel nervous.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Of course." Kayli nodded.

"Good." Rex nodded and remained silent for a moment before deciding to speak again. "Have you spoken to your friend Gemma lately?"

"Are you still trying to hook up with her?" Kayli asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling slightly. She was surprised to see that Rex wasn't asking her more personal questions since he often didn't know when to stop. It was a nice change, though she wondered how long it would last.

"It's not my fault she's so good-looking!" Rex defended himself with a laugh. "Could you at least ask her what she thinks of me?"

"Yeah, maybe." Kayli teased.

"What's this?" Davis asked, tuning into their conversation.

"Rex wants to get with Gemma." Kayli explained.

"You're not feeling left out, are you?" Davis joked, before shooting a grin at Kayli.

"Don't be stupid," Rex pouted, trying to hide a smile. "Of course I am!"

The three of them laughed and then quickened their steps to enter their room and grab their things, rushing out to follow after Cloud and Alec who had already began making their way to guns.

As they walked into the room and took their seats, their PHS's gave small beeps just like they had when they were informed that they were being sent to Modeoheim or Kalm. Since their instructor was glaring at them, they decided to read the messages later, but Kayli managed to steal a moment to read hers when they were put into groups and told to practice shooting.

The message was short and simple.

_Selected Infantrymen will be heading out to Wutai as soon as word is received from the team currently there. A meeting will be held tomorrow morning at 0800 hours to talk about the exact details. All recipients of this message must attend.

* * *

_

"Are you sure you're doing the right thing?" Angeal asked, standing in front of Sephiroth's desk and frowning down at his friend, who sat calmly doing paperwork.

"If they aren't confident in themselves they'll decide not to go." Sephiroth said, turning a page over. "They _do_ have a choice and Lazard gave the okay."

"Yes, but what if one of them isn't ready and only thinks they are?" Angeal asked. "They're only young!"

"It's up to them." Sephiroth said. "Besides, I'm hoping to find something out."

"Find something out? What exactly could you discover by doing this other than who's brave and who's not?" Angeal snapped, folding his arms.

"I want to know about Roy Peters' brother." Sephiroth said, still working and not even glancing up from the papers.

"You've lost me."

"Roy Peters has a brother in Wutai who is a rebellion soldier. I'm hoping Roy will choose not to go so that I can interrogate him with an excuse." Sephiroth explained, rubbing his wrist before continuing to write.

"What? His brother is a rebellion soldier?" Angeal gasped.

Sephiroth sighed and put down his pen, looking up at his friend and folding his arms. "That's what I just said, isn't it?"

Angeal quickly composed himself again.

"Look, if you're going to send these Infantrymen, why not go with them? That way you'll be able to protect them!"

"I was actually hoping to send you." Sephiroth said quietly. "I thought maybe you could take the puppy as well, to give him some practice. Will you go?"

Angeal scowled, annoyed that Sephiroth had gotten him exactly where he wanted him. Since he cared so much about the Infantrymen, it was obvious he would eventually give in and decide to go to ensure he could keep an eye on them.

"I'm going to regret this." Angeal said, and Sephiroth smirked.

The door suddenly burst open to reveal Zack holding a live puppy in his arms.

"Yes! I'm going to Wutai!" Zack then froze and took a moment to find out why Angeal and Sephiroth were staring at him in such a strange way. "Ah! Oops!" he exclaimed when he realised he had completely failed to hide the puppy.

"I thought I told you to get rid of that, Zack." Angeal growled.

"Uh, yeah, well... It's just so cute!" Zack argued before flashing a grin and darting off again.

_Yes_, Angeal thought to himself, _I am going to regret taking him to Wutai._


	25. Chapter 25

At the end of the day after having another lesson with Kunsel and learning absolutely nothing – only according to Davis – Kayli found out that she and all of her room-mates had all gotten the message on their PHS. That was why, early the next morning, they all got up at the same time and left to eat breakfast before going to the general meeting room.

A couple other Infantrymen who they didn't know were also in there, along with Jinx and Jensen. At the front of the room stood Angeal and Lazard, quietly marking off everyone's names to see who they were still waiting for.

Then Lazard cleared his throat and everyone fell silent.

"The mission which you will be embarking on, should you choose to, is a dangerous one. Angeal Hewley, 1st Class SOLDIER, will be going with you to Wutai along with a few other SOLDIERs yet to be decided. I called this meeting to make sure that you understood exactly what would be expected of you if you went."

Picking up his clipboard, Lazard stepped back and allowed Angeal to step forward so that he could address them. The SOLDIER's dark expression as he gazed around the room at each and every one made them wonder just what could be so terrible. They were about to find out.

"People die. In the past week, five infantrymen stationed in Wutai have been killed despite the fact that a 1st Class SOLDIER was with them and they've had a lot of training. Three regular army soldiers were also killed. Wutai is not a playground. If you go there, I can assure that there is an incredibly high chance one of you will die. If you do not want to go, you don't have to. The choice is up to you. We are not forcing anyone."

Angeal glanced back at Lazard before turning again to the intimidated faces.

"There is a group of Wutai rebellion soldiers who have recently been raiding towns and killing everyone who gets in their way. If you choose to go on this mission, you will most probably have an encounter with them. It will require you to think quickly, trust your team mates and follow orders precisely. There will be no room for error."

Kayli lowered her head slightly, allowing her hair to fall in front of her eyes and hopefully block her face from Angeal. She didn't want him to see the look in her eyes. The anger.

She wasn't stupid. She'd connected it together and _knew_ Liam was part of that dangerous group they were being warned about.

She wanted him dead and, as much as she hated to admit it, she'd have to go to Wutai. If she didn't she would forever be disappointed in herself. She had to face her fear or she never would and Liam would get away with all the wrong things he'd ever done in his life.

"If you don't want to go on this mission just yet, perhaps you'd like to consider trying out for SOLDIER instead. The exams required will give you excellent training and should help you to feel more confident, even if you don't get in on your first try. Also, if you've decided that being a Turk is something you'd prefer, you can take an exam for that as well. But if you want to go on this mission I suggest you put those off until you get back."

Angeal gave a sharp nod of his head and stepped back, having finished everything he was going to say to them.

"You have to make your decision by this afternoon and only if you decide that you're _not_ going are you to tell us. For now, we're assuming you all are. Dismissed." Lazard said, and everyone slowly left the room.

When they were back in their room, Alec spoke.

"I'm not going. I've only just joined so I'm nowhere near ready yet." he admitted, sitting on his bed.

"I'm gonna try out for SOLDIER." Cloud said firmly, folding his arms and lifting his chin slightly.

"I'm going." Rex said, grinning slightly and turning to look at Davis.

As soon as Kayli noticed Davis' hesitation that was directed at her, she decided to voice her decision as well. She didn't need Davis to worry about her.

"I'm going as well." she said with a nod at Davis, who seemed confused as to her decision but then shrugged.

"Okay, I will too."

The door flung open.

"Hey! You guys going? I'm going!" Jinx announced excitedly. "Jensen isn't going – the wuss."

"Get out, Jinx!" Kayli groaned.

"Okay fine! I'll leave you to your private discussion." Jinx chuckled and ran off, apparently unperturbed by their reluctance to have him around.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Rex asked Kayli as their door shut again.

"Yes." she said.

"But... you're a girl. It's Wutai. Fighting. Killing. Sure you can do it?" Rex raised one eyebrow and Kayli punched him lightly on the arm.

"I'm not a baby." she laughed.

"Sure you aren't!" Rex grinned.

"I'm gonna go tell Lazard I'm not going." Cloud said, slowly walking towards the door but pausing as Alec stood up.

"I'll come too," Alec said. "May as well get it over and done with."

When they left the room there was silence for a moment before Rex let out a loud sigh and also moved towards the door.

"I'm gonna go find Jinx and tell him which of us are going."

Kayli and Davis glanced at each other and then looked away again awkwardly, finding themselves alone in the room. Kayli knew he was probably going to ask her if she was sure that she wanted to go to Wutai, and truthfully she was dreading it. She didn't want to be asked because then she would doubt her decision.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Davis asked quietly, as expected.

"I have to." she answered.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do, Davis," Kayli looked up at him again. "How else am I going to overcome my fear of him?"

"You might die." Davis murmured.

"So might you." Kayli pointed out.

"I won't go if you don't want to." Davis said and Kayli laughed.

"Davis, stop being stupid. I want to go and you do as well, I know it. So we're going and that's that. Okay?"

Davis rolled his eyes but smiled slightly, giving her a side-hug.

"At least I'll be able to keep an eye on you to make sure that you don't do anything too stupid." he said teasingly.

"Gee, thanks." Kayli poked her tongue out.

* * *

Gemma stood in front of her own as well as Kayli's parents, staring at the carpet and wishing she was somewhere else. She didn't want to lie to anyone but she knew that she couldn't tell on Kayli. At the same time, seeing Kayli's parents so upset was heartbreaking.

"Gemma please," Mrs Peters begged. "If you know anything about where she is, then tell us! We don't want to see her get hurt!"

"We don't want to lose our last child." Mr Peters murmured, making Gemma feel twice as horrible.

"She wants to be alone." she said quietly.

"Gemma," her mother said sternly. "If you know where she is then it's your responsibility to tell us."

"No it's not! It's her decision and she doesn't want anyone to know!" Gemma protested, finally looking up from the carpet.

"This is for the best," her mother said. "Imagine if Alec hadn't called you to tell you he was at ShinRa. What would you have done?"

Gemma looked down again, knowing exactly how worried she had been when Alec had disappeared without telling anyone where he was going.

"Kayli is safe. She doesn't want anyone to look for her."

"Please Gemma, just tell us where she is!" Mrs Peters said again, biting her lower lip nervously.

"I can't! Please stop asking me! I'm sorry, but you have to trust me that she's safe and know that I'm not going to break my promise!" Gemma said, turning and walking towards the door, hoping to get away.

"Does this have anything to do with Liam?" her father asked quietly, making her freeze and wonder how on earth he had discovered that.

But of course, he had been the one who saw Liam in Wutai while he was on a business trip not too long ago.

"Oh please Gemma," Mrs Peters gasped. "Tell me she hasn't gone to find him!"

"She hasn't gone to find him." Gemma said, turning back around. "I promise you that."

"But it has something to do with Liam?" Mr Peters asked hesitantly.

"I can't say any more."

"Gemma!" her father snapped.

"No! That's it. I'm not telling you any more and I'm going to go visit Alec at ShinRa to see how he's doing. I'm sorry if you don't want me to go-"

"How exactly are you going to find the money to make a trip to Midgar?" her mother asked, folding her arms.

"It's not _that_ far away! But who knows, maybe I'll hitch-hike." Gemma spun on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Kayli.

_Your parents keep asking me where you are but I haven't told them. Are you still okay?_

Going into her room and shutting the door, she hoped that Kayli wouldn't take too long to reply. To be honest, Kayli was actually pretty worried about her as well.

Thankfully, a response came in the next five minutes.

_Thanks so much. Yes, I'm okay. But like I thought I'm being sent to Wutai. Please don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I just might be out of range for a while._

Gemma didn't know what to say in reply to that. Please don't worry? She was already panicking! If something happened to Kayli in Wutai, how would Gemma be able to rationalise not speaking up to their parents?

Closing her eyes and groaning, Gemma asked herself why she had ever agreed not to tell on Kayli.

To take her mind of the matter, she pulled out her make-up and began applying it to her face, trying different things to try and uncover a new look.

* * *

"They've decided on which SOLDIERs are going with us," Rex said as he walked back into the room a little while later. "You know Camon and Nareau? Well it's them plus Zack and Angeal."

"Zack's coming?" Kayli asked.

"Yeah."

"It definitely won't be boring, then." Davis pointed out humorously, to which Kayli and Rex nodded in agreement.

It wasn't long before Alec and Cloud got back and entered the room.

"You know, I've never seen Angeal look so happy to hear that we've decided not to go on a mission. I mean, sure, I hardly see him around much at all, but he looked abnormally happy when we told him we weren't going." Cloud said, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Really?" Kayli asked, glancing over at Davis before looking back at Cloud.

"Yeah, and he asked about you." Alec said.

That got her attention.

"What about me?" she asked.

"He just wanted to know if you had decided yet." Alec said.

"It was weird," Cloud said. "When we told him you were going to go he looked really worried about something."

Turning to Davis slightly and lowering her voice, Kayli muttered, "It would help if Sephiroth told me exactly who he's told about me."

"Maybe he finds it more fun not to." Davis whispered with a slight laugh.

"Wow thanks for that, not!" Kayli grinned.

"Oh, and Angeal told me that he thinks I'll make a great SOLDIER!" Cloud said, beaming suddenly.

"You told him you wanna try out?" Rex asked.

"Yeah." Cloud confirmed.

"That's so awesome! He's right though, you will make a great SOLDIER. I mean just think about it, you're great at following orders, you're an excellent listener, you love helping people and you have a really great sense of honour!"

"...I do?" Cloud asked quietly.

"Yep!"

The five friends continued to talk about things which would be happening soon and eventually they had to leave for another lesson with Kunsel. Amazingly, Davis didn't say anything bad about it on their way there that time.

* * *

Sephiroth pulled his PHS from his pocket and quickly dialled a number, holding the phone to his ear and then waiting for the connection to be made. He was glad he had such a good phone which was able to reach people who were all the way over in Wutai.

"Yes?" came Genesis' voice.

"I just got word from our double agent," Sephiroth said. "He said he's managed to join another rebellion group."

"Could this possibly be the group we've been tracking for a while?" Genesis asked.

"Yes. He said he's been with them for a while now and just had no chance to contact us."

"Right, thanks for letting me know. I'm in the town with some regular soldiers right now and we saw some of them a moment ago but they threw a bomb at us and got away." Genesis explained, moving to look out a window he was standing near.

"If they attack, try not to kill any of them. We want them alive." Sephiroth said.

"Are you crazy? These guys might not be good at what they do, but if I don't fight to kill they'll manage to take out a lot of my men." Genesis complained.

"Then at least do your best not to kill their two leaders." Sephiroth said.

"Both?" Genesis asked.

"Yes." Sephiroth nodded even thought his friend couldn't see him.

"Alright," Genesis sighed. "I'm thinking of trying to get a message to our lovely little double agent soon as well. Do you have his number?"

"Wait until they attack," Sephiroth said. "Then you'll be able to get him into safety without any of the others noticing. If you send him a message now, while they're most probably planning how to approach next, they'll be more likely to discover him."

"Alright, alright," Genesis chuckled. "Any more advice before I go back to watching the trees?"

"If you can capture Peters it would be great. Since Kayli has decided she is actually going to go to Wutai I won't be able to ask her more about him just yet. But if you caught him maybe we'd be able to get him to talk." Sephiroth said.

"What? She's coming to Wutai? You can't allow that!" Genesis snapped.

"I can't do anything anymore. If I tell her she can't go she'll complain and everyone else will start asking questions. It's up to her now." Sephiroth said.

"But he's seen the photo-"

"I know."

"He'll see her-"

"I know, Genesis! Get back to work."

Sephiroth hung up and slammed his PHS down on his desk, scowling. He had been incredibly frustrated when he heard from Angeal that Kayli had decided to go because it meant he needed a plan B. Also, since Genesis had planted a photo to aggravate Liam, the Wutai soldier would be prepared to see Kayli in the flesh.

But the one thing which Sephiroth couldn't understand yet and kept running through his mind was this: who was Roy, really? How did Liam know him and why did he think he'd killed him before?

With a groan, Sephiroth rubbed his head to try and battle an oncoming headache.

Standing up, he left his office and began making his way to Hojo's lab, having a feeling that he'd missed his last mako dosage for one reason or another. Hojo would probably be really angry.


	26. Chapter 26

It wasn't long before the team stationed in Wutai contacted Lazard and the Infantrymen who had chosen to go on the mission were sent to get ready for leaving. Kayli, Davis and Rex were standing together as they fixed up their uniforms properly and then searched through the weapons for extra weaponry they would like to use besides what already came in their pack and belts.

Kayli took a handgun and slipped it into her belt before grabbing a sword and stepping back to allow the others more room. Davis then grabbed one of the fancy guns he loved so much and Rex spent a bit longer searching until finally he settled on a knife and a gun.

Jinx was also in the room, holding two guns and trying to spin them in his hands. He was doing alright, but would occasionally drop one.

The door opened again and Angeal walked in, leading Zack and Jensen behind him. Jinx abruptly dropped his guns again and stared.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm coming." Jensen said, shuffling over to the weapons and picking out a sword.

"Ha! I told you so!" Jinx declared, bending down to pick up his guns again and grinning at Jensen proudly.

"Alright," Angeal said, looking over the group and also looking over at where Camon and Nareau stood in the corner with their own swords. "We'll be heading out very soon and as soon as we do you all have to be prepared to do exactly as I say as soon as I say it. Understood?"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

"Good. Now remember, Wutai is a dangerous place. The group we're going to be ambushing is good at what they do and could easily kill you. Do you understand? Only if you do what I say will you have a chance of survival."

Angeal put his hands on his hips and nodded at them all. "Good luck, you may head out to the helicopter."

Slowly, the group headed out. They were all nervous as well as excited, but the most excited of them all was probably Zack.

"Oh my gosh, we're totally gonna kill them all! They'll wish they never met the Zackinator!" Zack announced as they walked. "I can just imagine their faces when they see us just before we chop their heads off. They'll be like, 'ah, crap!'" Zack laughed.

Angeal shook his head in disbelief and tried to ignore the boy, hoping that he wouldn't end up getting himself killed.

When they reached the helicopter and got in, Zack made a show of squirming in his seat before finally getting into a comfortable position and pretending to be fast asleep immediately. Everyone else sat calmly and quietly and waited to be taken into the air and be on their way to Wutai.

"This is gonna be great," Jinx said to Jensen whilst looking out the window to watch the ground fall away. "I can't wait to see the techniques Wutai soldiers use when fighting."

Kayli closed her eyes and leant back against her seat, trying hard not to think about what was going to happen but being unable to not notice the way her heart was pounding hard enough to break her ribcage.

_"Murderer! Don't touch me!"

* * *

_

Sergei had instructed the group to lay low and wait for the opportune moment to attack. Right now the soldiers in the town were far too alert, so something had to be done to distract their attention. After waiting a while for that to happen, Sergei had thought of something else and sent Tarou around to sneak in the back.

If Tarou managed to get inside, Sergei and the others would charge from one side and then the ShinRa soldiers would all have their backs to Tarou, who would have the chance to kill them all from behind.

Tarou had immediately set off to do as Sergei asked, slipping through the trees around the town and trying to find a way in without being seen. Finally, he got close to a small house which was on the outskirts of the town and managed to crawl in the window.

He was inside.

Smiling, he walked through the room he had found himself in and came to a door, pushing it open and walking over to where a man stood near another window.

"I haven't seen _you_ in a while." Tarou chuckled.

Genesis turned calmly to face him and nodded. "Good to see you made it. What can you tell me about what's happening out there?"

"Sergei's planning to attack front-on and have me shoot from the back to catch everyone by surprise. I know where he is if you want to ambush him." Tarou said.

"Wait-" Genesis frowned. "Sergei?"

"Yes, he's taken control of the group since Lee isn't-"

"Sergei Molotov?" Genesis interrupted again, eyes narrowed as he waited for his suspicions to be confirmed.

"I think so... we never really talk about our last names though." Tarou said slowly, cautious as to what Genesis could be thinking.

"I can't believe he's become a Wutai soldier." Genesis mumbled to himself.

"How do you know him?" Tarou asked.

"Sergei used to be a 2nd Class SOLDIER." Genesis said, turning away to look back out of the window.

"Wow, never saw that coming." Tarou mumbled.

"Tell me about the other leader of your group." Genesis said without turning again.

"Ah, Lee? He's an absolute nutter. He's got a terrible temper and hates whenever someone challenges his authority. Obviously he and Sergei don't get on very well. What do you want to know?" Tarou asked.

"Do you know if he's got any siblings?"

"Sorry, wouldn't have a clue. We never talk about anything like that."

Genesis nodded and lingered at the window before finally facing Tarou again. "How long until they attack?"

"They told me to wait for the signal."

"What's the signal?"

"Uh, basically them charging out of the trees." Tarou shrugged. "They could attack any minute."

"Is there anything you can do to hold them off? We've got backup coming but it will be pointless if they arrive after the attack is launched." Genesis said.

"I'll go back if you want," Tarou said. "I'll tell them there was no way inside and that we'll have to come up with another plan."

"No, don't bother." Genesis suddenly said, looking over his shoulder at the window again and smiling. "They're here."

* * *

Angeal had gone over their instructions again and again as they neared Wutai, hoping that by some chance they would be ready for what they were met with. He could see the fear on all their faces as the helicopter slowed and began lowering itself towards the ground in the centre of a Wutai town.

"Jensen!" Jinx called quietly, just loud enough for his friend to hear him above the sound of the propellers. "Why did you change your mind and come?"

Jensen looked over at him sadly. "I'll tell you later."

In the next moment, the helicopter had landed and the propellers slowed to a stop. Angeal quickly opened the door and jumped out, calling for the others to come. So far everything looked peaceful and quiet, but Genesis had said that the rebellion soldiers were waiting to ambush so they could come at any time. He had to get the Infantrymen into safety fast so they could then come up with a strategy.

Directing them over to a nearby house where Genesis had appeared, Angeal anxiously watched the trees for any sign of danger. He still thought it was a bad idea to have so many inexperienced _kids_ on a battlefield.

"Angeal," Genesis said, walking towards him past the line of infantrymen making their way to the house. "I know where-"

A flash interrupted whatever he was going to say and then a bang followed as a grenade exploded just to the side of where they were. Gunshots followed and immediately Genesis and Angeal sprung into action, blocking the bullets with their swords and herding the infantrymen towards the house faster.

But it wasn't fast enough. The Wutai soldiers seemed to appear out of nowhere, firing guns and throwing more and more grenades. Angeal quickly yelled out for his men to stand strong and fight, glad to see that they all did turn and begin firing weapons at the enemy.

The Wutai soldiers must have known that an attack after the helicopter landed would be most effective as everyone would be momentarily distracted.

"Angeal!" Genesis yelled out and Angeal quickly spun around to block an attack from a man whose long black hair was dyed blue and red on the tips.

Davis fired his gun, trying to stop the man who was approaching him from getting any closer. Rex stood beside him, also shooting.

It felt useless. The man kept dodging and firing his own bullets at them that they only just managed to manoeuvre out of the way from in time. It was as if the man was taunting them and not really trying to aim at them properly.

Davis felt something at his back and panicked, shooting a glance over his shoulder as Rex took a turn to fire at the man. Thankfully, it was only Jinx standing back-to-back with him.

"They're everywhere!" Jinx called.

"I know!" Davis replied. "But there aren't even that many of them!"

"If Sephiroth was here we wouldn't-" Jinx stopped to take aim and fire, grunting in frustration as he only grazed his opponents arm. "We wouldn't have any trouble!"

Davis nodded even though Jinx couldn't see him and continued to focus on trying to shoot the man in front of him, glad that Jinx was covering his and Rex's backs. He wondered where Kayli and Jensen were, but now was not the time to look for them.

"Ah!" Jinx cried out just as the man Davis and Rex were shooting at was distracted by Zack who had jumped in to fight him with his sword.

Davis quickly spun around to see what was wrong with Jinx.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I stubbed my toe!" Jinx growled, lifting his gun again and shooting one last time at the man who refused to die in front of him. This time, since the man had been distracted watching Jinx hop up and down, the bullet embedded itself in his leg and he fell to the ground.

"Good shot."

"Davis!" Rex yelled, grabbing his friends arm and spinning him around. Davis hurriedly searched for what Rex could be trying to alert him off and then he saw it. Kayli was on the ground, scrambling as fast as she could away from a man holding a gun on her.

But what _really_ caught Davis' attention was the man who was quickly walking towards them, his eyes narrowed in anger as he approached.

"Qurt, leave him!" the man snapped. "He's mine!"

Davis shrugged Rex off him and started running. That was Liam. He _knew_ it was Liam because there was no doubting the resemblance between them. Kayli couldn't deal with this yet!

Kayli stopped scrambling away when she saw him. Her limbs seemed to freeze up as she stared in horror at the man who dropped to his knees beside her and reached out to grab her shirt, pulling her up off the ground slightly.

"Well, well," Lee said with a chuckle. "Little Roy didn't die like I thought."

Kayli felt her head spin slightly and fought off the nausea. She couldn't let him get to her. Just because he thought she was her twin brother didn't mean anything.

"Come, I'm taking you back with me." Lee said, standing and pulling her up as well. She began to struggle, trying to make him let her go, but he didn't even blink as he brought his gun around and shot her in the leg, eliciting a cry of pain as she almost collapsed to the ground again. He then dragged her away from the fighting and whistled for Qurt, who instantly came running up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need you to hold him for me while I finish these people off." Lee said. Qurt nodded and took hold of Kayli, making sure to hold firmly as Lee ran off back into the fighting.

Before Lee got far, though, he was stopped by another Infantryman.

"Out of my way or I'll kill you." Lee snapped.

"I don't think so!" Davis cried, bring up his gun and firing. Lee was taken by surprise at the boy's bravery and only had enough time to move so the bullet grazed his side. Suddenly angered that he had been wounded by someone so young, he brought his own gun round and slammed it into the boys head, knocking him out.

Kuja and Kuta were fighting Genesis and Angeal, trying their best to keep them occupied enough so that they wouldn't be able to help anyone else. Grenades were going off everywhere courtesy of Yakov and thankfully the confusion level was incredibly high. It was difficult to see who was where and whether the person approaching was an enemy or not at times.

Sergei, thankful for Kuja and Kuta's distracting techniques, was fighting against Camon and Nareau. They were proving to be good at what they did, but he knew it wouldn't be long until he was able to finish them off. Besides, his eyes didn't have a faint glow in them for no reason.

Once a SOLDIER, always a SOLDIER.

Another sudden blast from one of Yakov's grenades went off right beside Sergei and his opponents, making them all turn away to shield themselves.

But Sergei was faster at recovering and brought his gun up to fire, hitting Nareau in the arm and getting Camon in the chest. They both fell backwards from the impact and Sergei shook his head with a smirk. He never could understand why SOLDIERs preferred to use swords to guns, which always finished a job quickly.

"No!"

Sergei turned to see a boy with dirty blond hair running towards him with a gun in his hand, eyes wide in horror. The poor boy probably hadn't ever seen anyone die before.

Rex couldn't believe Camon was down and unmoving. The SOLDIER had always been so strong, loud and invincible. Sure, this was the first time he'd seen him in an actual battle, but Camon was the _last_ person Rex had imagined would ever be killed.

So he ran at Sergei, knowing that he had to get revenge any way he could. Raising his gun, he took a shot as he ran, cursing under his breath as it went over the man's shoulder and didn't harm him at all.

Sergei walked forward to meet him, bringing his own gun up but not firing. Rex then slowed down to a stop and they stared at each other for a while before Sergei grinned and began to circle. Rex gulped and turned with the man, not wanting to take his eyes off him.

Once Sergei had walked far enough so that now Rex's back was to Camon and Nareau, he lowered his arm. Rex couldn't see, but Lee was now standing next to Camon with Camon's sword in his hands and waiting for the right moment to strike.

Rex hesitated for a moment but then quickly brought his left arm up, preparing to shoot Sergei since he had let his guard down.

But just as quickly, someone leapt out from behind him and brought a sword down on his shoulder.

He lost all feeling.

He lost... his arm.

At the same time, Sergei raised his hand again and fired one bullet, watching in satisfaction as the boy fell back against the dirt ground and lay still.

"Lee," Sergei said. "We need to get out of here or the others will die. Kuja-ta can't hold off the 1st's for much longer."

Lee nodded and turned to see Yakov grinning and throwing two grenades at once, in whatever direction they so happened to go. Apparently he didn't care very much about who he hit.

Angeal and Genesis had finally succeeded in making Kuja and Kuta back off, since the twins had fled. But as they turned and surveyed the damage, they knew the whole thing had been a disaster.

"We have to get them out of here!" Angeal yelled to Genesis, horrified to see Rex lying motionless near an also motionless Camon. Nareau had pulled himself up and was ignoring the blood on his arm as he fought with Yakov.

"Angeal, quick! You have to stop him!" Genesis ordered, pointing to where Lee was running back over to Qurt and Kayli. Angeal nodded and took off.

Genesis then raised his sword and ran towards Sergei, who was fighting Zack and currently winning. Zack was, however, putting up a good fight.

Coming from behind, Genesis shot a fira at Sergei and managed to light his clothes on fire, distracting the man for a moment before gaining the chance to slam him across the back of the head with the hilt of his sword and watch him crumple, unconscious.

Gradually, they were taking control of the situation again. The army soldiers who had been following the Wutai soldiers from a distance had reached the town and were now also joining the fighting, driving the Wutaians out.

Everything would be over soon.

It didn't take long for Yakov to realise that he was greatly outnumbered and would have to leave soon unless he wanted to be killed. Seeing a group of ShinRa soldiers approaching from one side as he continued to fight Nareau, he hurriedly pulled a grenade from his pocket and threw it at them to buy himself some more time.

In the group was Jensen, who had been pushed aside by one of the other soldiers before the grenade exploded, but still caught the blast against his face. A piece of shrapnel caught him in his right eye and he cried out, stumbling backwards blindly.

Yakov took the chance to fire another bullet at Nareau and then run off, hoping to reach the trees and be able to hide before someone else got to him.

Lee was with Qurt and Kayli again, grabbing Kayli and beginning to pull her away from the town.

"You think you can just survive me almost killing you and then show up here in Wutai? In _my country_?" Lee was grumbling angrily. "Well as punishment I am going to make your life a living hell. You'll never get back to Midgar, you hear me?"

Kayli didn't say anything. She was sure that if she spoke he'd realise she was actually not Roy, but so far she hadn't been able to make up her mind about whether that would be better or worse.

And she kept seeing Rex in her mind, falling backwards with blood running down his side and then lying perfectly still. She hadn't seen exactly where the bullet had hit him, but it must have been near a vital organ.

"Lee!" Qurt cried out, and Lee turned to see Angeal running towards them.

Survival instincts kicked in and Lee picked Kayli up before throwing her over his shoulder and beginning to run as well. A strangled cry from behind informed him that Qurt had just died but he didn't slow.

In amongst the trees he met with Kuja, Kuta and Yakov. Without speaking at all, they set out quickly to get away from the town, knowing that with the two 1st Class SOLDIERs still there they didn't stand a chance.

Kayli could feel the strength draining out of her as she flopped around on Lee's shoulder. Her leg kept hitting things and she was doing all she could not to cry out in pain every time it happened. Hopefully soon she would pass out and not have to worry.

So much for telling Gemma she was okay.

* * *

Genesis and Angeal gathered everyone together to assess the situation. Everyone was injured in at least one way, mostly from gunshot wounds to the leg or arm. Davis had been brought from unconsciousness with a bit of water poured over him and he was now standing next to Jinx. Jensen was collapsed on the ground and had blood streaming down the entire right side of his face and drenching his hand as he held it over where the shrapnel had hit him. His entire body shook violently as the shock of it all began to set in. His screams and moans of agony rang out over the town, mingling with the cries of other wounded.

Zack stepped over and bent down to him, quickly picking Jensen up and rushing him over to the helicopter. Moving rapidly, Zack grabbed some thick dressings and bandages before ignoring Jensen's screams of protest as he moved the boy's hand out of the way and began to cover the injury.

Davis and Jinx were watching as the regular army soldiers loaded Camon into the helicopter on a stretcher, with a sheet draped over him.

Next went Rex.

"Where's Roy?" Jinx suddenly asked.

"Not here." Davis said quietly, eyes on the stretcher that held his best friend since childhood. "They took him."

"What? We have to go after him!" Jinx said.

"They said not to. We're not allowed." Davis shook his head.

"Sephiroth?" Genesis was saying into his phone as he walked off. "We're going to need another helicopter."

Angeal let out a sigh from where he stood and shook his head. "I told him this was a bad idea."


	27. Questionnaire Interlude

**Questions for Rex:**

**What is your favourite jelly bean flavour?**

Raspberry or French Vanilla(Jelly Belly)

**What's your favorite song? **

Everytime we touch – Cascada

**Did your parents name you after the dinosaur?**

Yeah, they're archaeologists! ...well, they wish they were at least!

**What would you do if Sephiroth got stabbed in front of you? **

...Run? I mean, I don't want to be near anything that could stab SEPHIROTH!

**What is your middle name?**

Richmond. Yes, I'm a triple R.

**Do you secretly have a love for kittens?**

Wow, yes! How did you know?

**Where do you feel safest?**

Surrounded by women!

**If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?**

Costa del Sol!

**What is your preferred form of travel?(Chocobo, airship, public transport, turks lifts, etc)**

Public transport because then I get to see more girls!

**What is your biggest pet peeve?**

Learning how to write with my right hand. Because I'm _left_ handed!

**Is the glass half-empty or half-full?**

Half full!

**Why the hair style?**

Why the brain? It's not like I can change it. Believe me, I've tried.

**General Info?**

Rex Richmond Rance

Dirty-blond hair

Brown eyes

15 years old

* * *

**Questions for Davis:  
Do you like penguins?**

Uh, they're okay? I guess. But they look weird.

**What's your favorite song? **

OneRepublic – Dreamin Out Loud

**How did you feel while you were home after being forced back by your dad? **

I hated it. He's so controlling and the one time when I thought I was going to be able to prove something to him it was taken away from me again.

**The famous question - boxers or briefs? **

Boxers.

**What would you do if Sephiroth got stabbed in front of you? **

I'd probably stand in shock for a while... and then get outta there as fast as I can!

**What is your middle name?**

Miles.

**What colour is the carpet at your house?**

There isn't any carpet in my house, but there's carpet in our shop and that's a cream colour.

**Where do you feel safest?**

With my friends, I guess, because I trust them.

**If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?**

I've always wanted to visit the Woodlands so I'd probably go there.

**What is your preferred form of travel?(Chocobo, airship, public transport, turks lifts, etc)**

Chocobo.

**What is your biggest pet peeve?**

I hate tea. It's disgusting. I don't understand how anyone could like it. Come on, you're drinking leaves! Gross!

**Is the glass half-empty or half-full?**

Half full.

**Do you like cheese?**

Yeah.

**General Info?**

Davis Miles Taison (Told ShinRa he was Taylor Davis)

Mahogany-brown hair

Dark blue eyes

15 years old**

* * *

**

**Questions for Kayli:  
Have you, Kayli, ever seen a llama?**

No... what's a llama? I've seen a chocobo, though!

**What's your favorite song? **

Paramore – Turn it off/ B.o.B – Airplanes

**Any regrets about trying to become a SOLDIER? **

Yes, unfortunately. I regret pretending to be Roy because it makes me think about him all the time. I regret leaving my parents and Gemma. I regret putting myself in a situation where I could be sent to Wutai and have to face Liam.

**Ever almost wanted to "shave" the fake peach-fuzz on your face? **

Yes! Haha.

**What would you do if Sephiroth got stabbed in front of you? **

There goes my secret keeper. But seriously, I'd be more upset than that. I mean, he's Sephiroth! Like Rex said, I guess if it was right in front of me I'd probably die next.

**What is your middle name?**

Nora

**Do you like peanut butter?**

Yeah!

**Where do you feel safest?**

In ShinRa. It's not like Liam would be able to get to me in there, right?

**If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?**

I've always wondered what it would be like to be on Round Island, so far out to see in the middle of nowhere.

**What is your preferred form of travel?(Chocobo, airship, public transport, turks lifts, etc)**

I prefer airships.

**What is your biggest pet peeve?**

Having to put my make-up on every morning to look like a guy.

**Is the glass half-empty or half-full?**

Depends on the day. Today? Half empty.

**General Info?**

Kayli Nora Peters

Short black hair

Green eyes

14 years old

* * *

**Questions for other characters:**

**Questions for Liam:**

**What colour is your toothbrush?**

Blue.

**What is your middle name?**

Oslo.

**Do you wear baggy pants?**

Yes.

**General Info?**

Liam Oslo Peters

Shoulder-length black hair

Green eyes

22 years old

* * *

**Questions for Edvard:**

**What is your middle name?**

Ek.

**General Info?**

Edvard Ek Frederiksen

Brown hair

Brown eyes

Wears glasses

14 years old

Created and owned by _Lioneh_

* * *

**Questions for Roy:**

**What is your favourite animal?**

I love dogs. They're really fun to play with!

**General Info?**

Roy Dean Peters

Black hair

Green eyes

-9 years old-

* * *

**Questions for Jinx:**

**Why did you dye your hair green?**

Because green hair is AWESOME!

**Are you afraid of cats?**

No, but I'm terrified of birds.

**Do you chew gum?**

Only when preparing to stick it in someone's hair! =D

**General Info?**

Jay Inks (Jinx)

Green hair

Blue eyes

15 years old

* * *

**Questions for Nareau:**

**Are you Charlie the Unicorn in disguise?**

Wow, how did you guess? No, I'm not.

**General Info?**

Nareau

White hair

Gold eyes

17 years old

* * *

**Questions for Jensen:**

**Why did you change your mind and go on the mission to Wutai?**

Because InyrilJace wanted me to and I couldn't argue with her.

**Where do you come from?**

Corel

**General Info?**

Jensen Bailey

Midnight blue hair

Brown eyes

Adopted

15 years old

Created and owned by _InyrilJace_

* * *

**Alec Freshstone**

Brown hair

Blue eyes

16 years old

* * *

**Gemma Freshstone**

Blonde hair

Blue eyes

Hair and make-up artist

14 years old

* * *

**Camon**

Ash-brown hair

Grey eyes

18 years old

* * *

**Kuja Hisako**

Black hair with blue and red dyed tips

Smokes

20 years old

* * *

**Kuta Hisako**

Black hair with blue and red dyed tips

Smokes

20 years old

* * *

**Sergei Molotov**

Mako eyes

Ex-SOLDIER

29 years old

* * *

**Yakov Toporov**

25 years old

* * *

**Qurt**

18 years old

* * *

**Tarou**

Double agent

23 years old


	28. Chapter 27

**Hey guys! Before I let you read this chapter which I'm sure you've all been waiting for eagerly, I thought I'd let you know that I drew Davis, Rex and Roy! In case you want to see them, here are the links!**

**Rex:**

**h t t p : / / s e p t a s o n I c x x . d e v I a n t a r t . c o m / a r t / R e x - R a n c e - 1 6 6 0 5 2 2 3 8**

**Davis:**

**h t t p : / / s e p t a s o n I c x x . d e v I a n t a r t . c o m / a r t / D a v I s - T a I s o n - 1 6 6 0 5 2 6 2 3**

**Roy:**

**h t t p : / / s e p t a s o n I c x x . d e v I a n t a r t . c o m / a r t / R o y - P e t e r s - 1 6 6 0 5 2 9 4 4**

* * *

Lee brought the small group to a halt not too far from the town, close enough so that if anyone else had survived they would be able to find them but far enough so that the ShinRa soldiers wouldn't reach them.

"Have you seen Sergei, yet?" Yakov asked as they rested. Lee was laying Roy down on the ground as he looked up.

"No."

"What about Tarou?" Yakov continued. "I haven't seen him since he was sent around the back."

"He's on his way." one of the twins spoke up, a cigarette in his mouth.

"How do you know?" Yakov folded his arms.

"Turn around."

Yakov narrowed his eyebrows and spun on his heel to see Tarou approaching with a slight limp.

"Hey," Tarou said with a small nod. "How are we for injuries?"

"Nothing too serious," Lee said, his eyes back on Roy again. He didn't know why, but there was something odd about this whole situation. Straightening, he looked over at Tarou. "We'll need more supplies though."

"Will this do?" Tarou asked, a slight glint in his eye as he lifted a bag he was carrying to show his leader. Inside were multiple first-aid kits.

"How did you get that?" Lee snarled.

"Snatched it from one of the houses before the fight started." Tarou shrugged and handed it over. "You can decide what to do with it."

Lee took the bag and searched through it before throwing some bandages at Kuja and Kuta, allowing them to fix their own wounds.

"Yakov, what's your worst injury?" he asked.

"Just slight burns on my arms," Yakov chuckled. "Almost forgot to let go of one of my grenades."

Lee nodded and handed him the bag after taking out what he needed to lessen the pain in his side and stop the bleeding.

"Who's this?" Tarou asked, looking down at Roy.

"My brother."

"Were ShinRa holding him captive?" Tarou bent down beside the boy and moved his head slightly, studying the unconscious face.

"No. He's always wanted to be a SOLDIER." Lee spat.

"Saving him from himself then, are you?" Tarou murmured, eyebrows drawn together in confusion as he wiped something from near the boys' eye. "Wait, are you sure this is your brother?"

"Of course, why?" Lee asked, stepping over and crouching beside the other man.

"It's just... nothing." Tarou shook his head.

"Oh, right," Lee stood up and grinned. "I don't think we look anything alike either."

Tarou chuckled and reached for a bandage that was lying on the ground, using it to wrap around Roy's leg to stop the bleeding there.

"Have you seen Sergei?" Yakov asked curiously.

"They've captured him." Tarou said with a sigh. "Knocked him out cold and then loaded him up into the helicopter."

"Oh, great." Yakov groaned.

"I'm sure he'll find a way out," Lee said, glancing down at Roy again before looking away and telling himself to stop worrying. "For now we should get as far away as possible."

"What about Qurt?" Tarou asked.

"Q was killed." Lee shouldered his pack and glared at Tarou, daring him to speak again.

"That's a shame," Kuja said lightly. "I thought he'd last another week."

"Pay up." Kuta ordered, holding a hand out and waiting as Kuja pulled some gil from his pocket and gave it to him.

"Alright, let's go." Lee bent down and scooped Roy into his arms before walking off through the trees, leading his smaller group away from the town.

Tarou fell into step at the back, vowing to look after the boy Lee had captured as well as he possibly could. Why the boy was wearing make-up he didn't know, but he wouldn't let him die.

* * *

Sephiroth ignored Angeal as the man walked along beside him quickly, telling him of the failed mission and just how stupid the whole thing had been in the first place. He didn't have time to hear about 'his' mistake as Angeal called it, but apparently there was nothing he could do just yet.

Rounding a corner, he squared his shoulders. He headed straight for a door to the left and was about to open it when Angeal grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

"Don't you even care?" came the accusation. "Don't you even want to know who we lost?"

"I have work to do." Sephiroth said, not looking at his friend.

"That's not good enough! You have to at least come and take _one_ look at the state the infirmary is in. If you just did that I'm sure you'd understand, but right now you're being too stubborn to-"

"Excuse me." Sephiroth snapped, pushing Angeal away from him and quickly opening up the door and walking through, shutting it firmly behind him to ensure he wasn't followed.

The room was dark and a lone table sat in the centre with a two chairs on either side of it. One chair was occupied by a figure slumped over, hiding his face. Sephiroth slowly walked over and sat across from him, placing his hands on the table and interlocking his fingers.

"I didn't expect to be seeing you here again so soon." he said.

"That's something we've got in common." came the murmured reply as the figures head turned ever-so-slightly.

"Why did you become a Wutai soldier?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

"Why not?" The figure suddenly jerked his head up and stared across at Sephiroth, his blue eyes intense. "ShinRa is messed up. It serves you right to send your men on a suicide mission."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Sergei.

"It was not a suicide mission." he said quietly.

"But you didn't realise I'd be there, right? You didn't count on the fact that I've been training those men since we formed a group and even they rival most 2nd Class SOLDIERs now." Sergei said smugly. "Must have come as a shock to see your men come back covered in their own blood, right? But they're not even really men yet, are they?"

"What are you trying to achieve by being a soldier in Wutai? All you're doing is killing people for absolutely no reason." Sephiroth altered the conversation, not affected by what Sergei had said at all. He'd heard it all from Angeal, anyway.

"Tell ShinRa to withdraw from Wutai and I'll stop killing." Sergei leant back in his chair and folded his arms calmly.

"I'll be back later to ask you more questions," Sephiroth said. "For now, there's only one more I have for you."

"Oh? What's that?" Sergei smirked.

"The leader of your group," Sephiroth began slowly, taking note of the way that Sergei's eyes darkened suddenly. "Who is he?"

Despite his dark eyes, Sergei was still smirking and just shook his head at Sephiroth to let him know he wasn't going to talk.

"Alright, I'll be back later." Sephiroth stood and moved over to the door, exiting the room only to find Angeal standing there waiting for him, arms folded and a scowl set deeply on his face to show just how serious he was.

"You're coming with me right now." Angeal ordered before gripping his friends shoulder and roughly pushing him along the corridor.

When they reached the infirmary, Sephiroth could hear cries of pain even from outside the door. Walking in, he finally saw just what had happened to them. Most people had gunshot wounds to their leg, arm or side, but here and there Sephiroth saw others who had different injuries, such as burns.

"In case you were wondering, Roy was captured by the Wutai soldiers." Angeal muttered darkly from behind his friend, certain Sephiroth wouldn't care anyway since he hadn't asked yet.

But Sephiroth frowned and turned around to face him.

"What?"

"Well isn't this a miracle," Angeal scoffed. "You do actually care, do you?"

"Tell me what happened." Sephiroth demanded, ignoring the jibe.

"There isn't much else to tell except that he was also wounded in the leg." Angeal said honestly.

"Have we heard any more from Tarou?" Sephiroth asked desperately.

"He's gone back with the Wutaians since they haven't uncovered who he really is yet. I guess we can just hope he's able to stop them from killing Peters." Angeal folded his arms.

Sephiroth turned away again and gazed around the room, only now beginning to regret his decision. He wasn't sure who Kayli's brother was or why she had fainted when talking about him, but he was sure it couldn't be a good thing.

Leaving the room quickly, he didn't wait for Angeal.

* * *

Fear. A layer of it covered her mind as she slowly came back to consciousness and blinked her eyes open, looking around. It was night-time, which she only knew because she could see stars above her. Was everyone else asleep?

Kayli blinked as she felt tears in her eyes and tried her hardest not to voice her anguish. If there was a possibility that her captors were asleep she wanted to make sure she didn't make a noise which would result in waking them.

Instead, she slowly pushed herself to a sitting position so that she would be able to get a better look at her surroundings and find out exactly where she was in relation to her captors. She blinked again and turned her head, seeing a tent behind her. She wondered why they had left her outside without someone watching her. But then her eyes found the dark shape near her feet and she recoiled slightly, still trying to be quiet.

The light from the stars and moon wasn't enough for Kayli to figure out who it was that was sleeping so close to her, but she didn't want to know anyway. At least for now she could pretend it wasn't Liam, and rather someone who didn't want to hurt her.

Whoever it was must be a light sleeper if they were trusted to watch her.

Turning back to see where to place her hands so that she could lay back down without making a sound, she didn't see the figure lift his head and stare at her.

She easily slipped back to sleep, the weakness of her body due to her injuries being the cause for this, and when she woke again it was morning. Immediately she felt the ache of her leg through her whole body and bit back a groan, squeezing her eyes closed tight to try and block it out.

People were talking.

"You should scout ahead and see which direction is the nearest town."

"No, Kuja-ta will do that."

She knew that voice.

"Ah, Liam?" Leaves crushed underfoot as someone walked and Kayli focused on keeping her eyes closed, wanting to be left alone for as long as possible.

"What is it?" came Liam's voice again.

"We're going to need more provisions tonight. We've almost run out."

"Why are you dawdling then? Move!" The command was snapped and then whoever had spoken to him let out a sigh and walked off until Kayli could no longer hear their footsteps.

"Lee, do you want me to pack up the tent?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. Be quick about it."

Kayli held her breath as someone walked dangerously close to her and then past her, reaching the tent and beginning to pull it down so that it could be folded and packed away. She could hear Liam as he began talking to someone he referred to as Yakov and his footsteps wandered away from her slightly, allowing her to relax somewhat.

"Hey, are you awake?"

The whisper came so close to her that her eyes had flung open before she had time to think and she found herself staring at one of the Wutai soldiers. His dark hair was not unlike her own and she suddenly realised just how well Liam fit in with these people, even _looking_ as if he had Wutai blood in him.

"Shh, it's okay," the man said quietly. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Tarou."

Kayli remained silent and wondered whether he was just trying to trick her. If he was anything like Liam, she didn't want anything to do with him either.

"I don't have much time," Tarou said, glancing up again to make sure Liam was still busy talking to Yakov. "But I had to tell you. I'm working for ShinRa."

"What?" Kayli couldn't stop the question as it came out of her mouth.

"I'm going to try and make sure that-"

"Ah! Looks like the prisoner's awake now."

Kayli's heart sank and she heard no more sounds for a few seconds as she watched Tarou stand and step back slightly. Then Liam was above her and she could see his twisted smile looking down at her, jeering.

"Little Roy," he murmured, and Kayli was horrified to find that her ears were working again. She preferred not being able to hear what was being said. "Have you come to seek revenge for what I did to you?"

She didn't speak, not knowing what to say and thinking she was probably safer, anyway.

"I thought I'd finished you," Liam whispered, kneeling beside her and staring down into her eyes. "But here you are. Alive." He barked a laugh. "At least I still have time to end what I started."

Kayli watched, unmoving, as Liam reached out a hand and brushed some of her hair back from her face. The action was so contrasting to the words he had just said that her head reeled, but she fought to keep her outwards appearance composed.

"Do you have the scars?" Liam whispered, his smile making her want to vomit in disgust at his words. "Still not speaking, hm?"

He reached for her shirt but she suddenly pushed him away, her heart thudding at a dangerous speed as she tried to understand what she had just done. Was he going to kill her for it?

"Don't want me to see your scars, do you?" Liam snickered. "Too bad."

"Don't touch me!" Kayli screamed, pushing him away yet again and then twisting over to her stomach so that she could crawl away, but she was stopped by Yakov who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Now, now," Liam said, coming up beside her again and grabbing her arm tightly so she wouldn't be able to get away. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Who's bag do you want me to put the tent in?" Tarou asked, interrupting them and making Liam look over at him.

"Your own. It's about time you had some extra weight to carry." Liam scowled and then turned back to Kayli, smiling again. "You're not afraid, are you?"

"Hey, is that Kuja?"

Liam clenched his teeth together and looked back over at Tarou again, a glare fixed to his face.

"Tarou, if you don't shut up I'm going to make you carry _everyone's_ bags. And if you're so worried about watching me deform a child, go for a walk."

Tarou stood unmoving for a moment before folding his arms and lifting his chin slightly, defiant. Liam ignored him and focused on Kayli once again.

"You know, if it wasn't for you I never would have had to hurt your sister."

"What do you mean?" Kayli asked, confused. What did Roy have to do with Liam hurting her?

"If you hadn't decided to try and become a SOLDIER, I never would have taken my rage out on Kayli." Liam explained, smirking at the uneasy look that covered Kayli's face.

"You would have found some other excuse." Kayli murmured.

"Oh? You think so, do you?" Liam laughed. "Didn't you know... Kayli was my favourite?"

She felt sick. She wanted to throw up in his face and watch him jump back in disgust, but she didn't have the strength. Besides, she tried to tell herself, he was only saying those things to get a reaction. He was trying to make 'Roy' feel bad.

"I've actually been thinking of trying to track her down again, you know," Liam said thoughtfully. "Just so that she can help me take Wutai back from ShinRa."

"...She'd never help you." Kayli forced herself to say, not quite knowing why she was still pretending to be Roy. Perhaps because she felt safer. It was almost as if Roy really was there, protecting her by speaking up and defending her.

"How can you be so sure?" Liam asked with a chuckle.

"Would you help someone who tried to kill you?" Kayli spat at him, drawing her eyebrows together in a disbelieving frown.

"I'm sure she'd help me once I explained everything to her. I never wanted to hurt her." Liam said.

"Liar!" Kayli yelled, looking away from him. His hand clenching around her leg wound brought a scream from her lips and he smirked.

"I'm not lying, you runt. It was her screams that made me hurt her. I would have left her alone if she was quiet, but she sounded so much like you that I... I just couldn't hold it in anymore. Once I start, I find it hard to stop."

Tears burned her eyes and Kayli wished he would let go of her leg, but he showed no signs of moving.

"Now show me your scars."

Before Kayli had time to react, Liam had pushed her down on her stomach and pulled up the back of her shirt, running his eyes over her exposed back and searching for something. His shock was evident as he paused. Then he rolled her over hurriedly and examined her stomach.

"What...?"

His eyes moved back up to her face and his confusion was clear. His mouth was open in surprise and then he slowly shook his head.

"I should have known. As soon as I saw your face I should have known it was you and not Roy," he whispered. "Since Roy would have had scars all over his skin if he'd lived."

Kayli shivered.

"At least now I know he did die," Liam muttered, leaning in closer to her. "And there's nothing holding you back from staying here with me."

She would have retorted, but he stood up and faced Yakov, completely ignoring her for the moment.

"Fetch me the rest of the first aid kit."

Yakov turned and walked off to do so and Liam sat down again, smiling at her still. It seemed less horrifying now, but continued to frighten her.

"Everything will be alright." he said soothingly.

"Once I escape it will be." Kayli managed to say, avoiding his eyes and staring off into the distance.

"Don't you understand? As long as you do what I say I won't ever have a reason to hurt you." Liam said. "You're my sister, why would I want to?"

Kayli didn't have the energy to argue with him and point out that even though Roy had been his brother, he had murdered him without a thought. She lowered her head and didn't move or speak as Liam took the first aid kit from Yakov and then changed the bandage on her leg, making sure it was tight enough to stop the bleeding but not tight enough to hurt too much.

It wasn't long before Kuja and Kuta returned then, telling of which direction the town was so that the group could set out. Kayli was wondering how she would be able to walk the distance when Liam picked her up carefully and began walking, making her shudder and squeeze her eyes shut tightly as the others followed behind.

She didn't understand Liam. Was he deliberately trying to confuse her?

Kayli's head lolled back and she slipped to unconsciousness, questions about why Liam was acting the way he was going through her mind.

* * *

_"Liam! What have you done?" her mother screamed, running from the car and dropping down beside her._

_ "I'm so sorry!" Liam exclaimed, eyes wide as he stumbled backwards in horror. "I didn't mean to! I didn't!"_

_ "Don't move, young man!" her father ordered, walking up and pointing angrily at him. "Don't you move a muscle."_

_ Liam remained where he was, staring down at his sister as she lay in a bloody mess on the ground. She was crying so hard and looked so frail. What had he done? What could have possessed him to-_

_ "Drop the knife, Liam." his father demanded in a low growl from where he now stood right beside his son. Liam looked down and saw the blood-stained knife, dropping it from a rush of his own horror which tore through his body._

_ "I'm so sorry." he whispered._

_ "Get inside. _Now_."_

_ Liam turned his head to look up at his father and saw the anger. The disgust._

_ He didn't move._

_ "I said now, Liam."_

_ "No." Liam's lips curled up into a smirk._

_ A clap of sound and pain rang through his head and he was flung sideways as his father hit him. He laughed even as he tasted the blood on his lip._

_ "There's something _wrong_ with you!" his father roared, grabbing his arms and shoving him roughly towards the house and through the door. Kayli was still crying outside and now her mother was as well._

_ Liam continued laughing as his father hit him again but soon realised, when he opened his eyes, that he had been passed out for quite a while. He couldn't hear his parents anywhere and after eventually pulling himself off the floor to search the house, came to the conclusion that they were out at the hospital with Kayli._

_ He knew what he had to do._

_ His bag was already packed._

_ He walked out of the front door and didn't look back._


	29. Chapter 28

Davis sat on a chair beside Jensen's bed, holding an ice pack to his head to keep down the swelling from where he had been knocked unconscious by Liam's gun. It was horrible having to hold it there for so long, but he had been ordered not to take it off.

Jensen looked terrible. His eye had been bandaged so much that it was almost impossible to see his _un_injured eye. He was sleeping right now, having been drugged up so that his body could have as much time as possible to work on fixing him. Using materia was always a last resort.

The doors to the infirmary opened and Davis looked over, wincing as his head pounded from the movement. Jinx entered, eyes wide as he rushed over.

"The funeral's in two days and Lazard said we can't go!" he burst out.

"What? Why not?" Davis asked angrily, standing up and frowning.

"Apparently we've already missed enough classes being on mission and stuck in the infirmary." Jinx folded his arms and rolled his eyes at the pathetic excuse he had been given.

"But he was our friend!" Davis snapped, giving up with the ice pack and letting his arm drop to his side.

"I was hoping you'd get fired up like this. Wanna come with me to go beg again?" Jinx asked sneakily.

"Definitely!" Davis said, putting the ice pack onto the table beside Jensen's bed. "If he doesn't let us go, I don't know what I'll do. But it won't be pretty."

He then followed Jinx out of the infirmary, the two of them making their way to Lazard's office before summoning the courage to knock on the door. They had to show that they weren't going to take no as an answer.

"Come in."

Davis was the one to turn the handle and push the door open, stepping in before Jinx came in behind him.

"Sir," Davis said, keeping his chin up even as Lazard looked up from his work and saw them there, his eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. "I'd like to request permission to attend the funeral in two days-"

"I already said no." Lazard said. "You've missed too many lessons and still need time to heal entirely."

"But we're both fine, and Cloud didn't even go on the mission so he should _definitely_ be allowed to go!" Davis complained. "You can't just tell us to go about our daily lives without even going to the funeral! Besides, he deserves as many people to attend as possible."

Lazard sighed and folded his hands on top of his desk, watching the two boys curiously.

"You really care that much?" he finally asked.

"Yes." Davis said immediately.

"Then I'm proud of you. You've shown incredible devotion to a team member and I'm sure that if you ever become a SOLDIER you'll be someone I can count on never to leave a man behind." Lazard said, standing from his chair and walking around his desk slightly. "Very well, who would you like me to give permission to go to the funeral?"

Davis swallowed hard to stop the grin that wanted to appear on his face and instead lifted his head a bit higher.

"Myself, Jinx, Cloud, Alec and Jensen." Davis listed them off. He had thought about suggesting Edvard as well but decided against it, thinking he'd probably have to speak to Hojo about that.

"As long as you all promise to catch up on the classes you miss, I'll let you go." Lazard said. "Except for Cloud Strife."

"What? Why can't Cloud come too?" Jinx argued, annoyed at being let down moments after he'd thought everything was going to work out.

"I see you haven't heard of what happened to him while you were in the infirmary?" Lazard asked, both eyebrows raised. The boys shook their heads slowly. "Strife chose to undertake the tests to become a SOLDIER and completed the first few the day that you were sent out."

"Yeah, he said he was gonna try and become a SOLDIER. What does that have to do with him coming?" Davis asked.

"Earlier today he was participating in the last test to become a SOLDIER and, to put it quite bluntly, he failed." Lazard said.

"So just because he failed you're not letting him go to the funeral of a friend?" Davis hissed, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Lazard leant back against his desk and sighed, a slight frown on his face. "The last test to becoming a SOLDIER is having a small amount of mako injected into your system so that we can be sure you're able to cope with it. Strife could _not_ cope with it and his body... rejected it. He was sent to Hojo to have the mako removed again and as soon as that's done he'll be placed in the infirmary to recover. I would allow him to attend the funeral, but I don't think he'll feel up to it."

"Oh." Davis and Jinx murmured, the anger seeping out of them again.

"Sir..." Davis frowned. "Does that mean Cloud can never become a SOLDIER?"

Lazard straightened and walked behind his desk again, pulling out his chair and sitting down before looking up at them once more.

"Yes," he said truthfully. "He will never be a SOLDIER."

Davis and Jinx left the office with subdued happiness. They were glad they would be attending the funeral, but upset for their friend since he was never going to be able to achieve his dream.

They never heard Lazard whisper, "It would be far too dangerous."

* * *

Kayli's silence whenever Liam spoke to her was proof of just how hard she was trying to push the reality of the situation away. It was obvious that she wanted to leave, so Liam had begun tying her wrists together and whenever they camped for the night she was also tied to a tree so that she couldn't run off.

All the while, Liam would tell her he was sorry and that if she just _trusted_ him he would let her out of the ropes.

As if that was possible.

They reached the town the next afternoon and Kayli was left in the care of Yakov while the rest of the group attacked and soon had total control of the whole area. Liam came back for Kayli and took her with him when he entered the town's storehouse. Kuja and Kuta were already piling together supplies and food, packing it all into whatever bags could be found.

"How does your leg feel?" Liam asked quietly as he helped her rest against a table in the room.

'Like it's been shot,' Kayli would have grunted if she wasn't intent on ignoring him, clenching her teeth together. Liam seemed to take no notice of her bad mood or the fact that he hadn't received an answer and instead turned to help collect provisions needed.

"What's the plan after this?" Yakov asked, walking into the room after making sure none of the townsfolk were going to try and attack them.

"We'll be travelling to the next ShinRa station and taking them out." Lee said, tying up a bag and moving to another.

"What about Sergei? Shouldn't we rescue him?" Yakov folded his arms and frowned slightly, glancing over at the twins before looking back at Lee again.

"It's too risky," was all Lee said.

"We could join forces with another rebellion group! Sergei's known pretty well around these parts, I'm sure we could find some others who might want to help-"

"I said it's too risky." Lee snapped, turning to face him. "Kayli might escape."

Yakov was silent for a moment, considering what had just been said and trying to think of what he could say without offending his superior.

"We could leave her in a town here and come back for her." he suggested finally, raising both eyebrows and waiting to hear what Lee would have to say to that. Surely he wouldn't be able to think of an excuse.

"What's the point? Sergei will get out by himself, I'm sure. By the time we get there he'll probably be gone." Lee turned away from Yakov and remained quiet, not responding when Yakov continued to say that they should still offer their support to their friend.

Finally, Yakov left the room in a huff.

"Kuja-ta," Lee addressed the twins. "Where's Tarou?"

"No idea," said Kuja as he tied up another bag. "Kuta?"

"He disappeared as we were heading down here. Who knows where he's gone." Kuta replied with a small shrug.

Lee frowned and put his hands on his hips, looking around the room slowly for a minute as he thought through the information in his head.

"Alright," he said finally. "Watch Kayli. I'm gonna go find him."

Kuja and Kuta watched curiously as Lee left the room and then both glanced over to Kayli. They didn't know why she was so precious to Lee, especially since he hadn't seemed very fond of looking after her in the first place, but it wasn't their place to ask questions.

Kayli was very aware of the eyes on her and did her best to appear very weak, slumping more against the table and half closing her eyes. She wanted them to think she had no chance of escaping so that they would relax.

When the twins turned back to finish collecting the supplies, Kayli seized the opportunity to judge the distance between her and the door. Her loud winces and groans of pain whenever Liam moved her were fake, although her leg did hurt. It wasn't as bad as she hoped everyone thought it was.

Lowering her eyes to the boot she was wearing, she wondered if it would grab the twins attention if she bent down to them. She had to be careful that no one discovered what was hidden there or there really would be no hope for her at all.

Something that Angeal had handed out when they were still in the helicopter and approaching Wutai was a tracker which they were instructed to slip inside their boots. It was a simple device which sent out a signal so faint it wouldn't be picked up by any instruments found in Wutai. Angeal had said that sadly it meant it was harder for ShinRa to pick up on the signal from back in Midgar, but if ever someone was to get into a desperate situation they could press a button on the device and the signal being sent out would be strengthened.

That meant Wutaians would no doubt pick up on the reading, but it would let ShinRa know immediately there was something wrong so that they could send more backup to the exact location of the signal.

Kayli needed to press the button, but she had to do it secretly or else they would discover the device and smash it, rendering her efforts useless.

"Ah!" Kayli let out a fake cry and clutched at her leg, dropping to the floor. Now her hand was closer to her boots and the device, but she still had to wait for the right moment.

Kuja and Kuta immediately walked over to see what had happened.

"Is it just your leg?" one of them asked. Kayli lowered her head to ignore them and bit her lip, her heart pounding quickly in fear.

"Just forget her," the other twin sighed, pulling his brother away. "Let Lee worry about her if he wants to, but I refuse to act as a babysitter."

His brother nodded and the two of them left her alone again, not only gathering provisions now but also other things that caught their fancy.

Kayli took a deep, quiet breath and inched her fingers towards her boot, her eyes changing from watching the men and the door. Then she could feel the device beneath her fingers and she found the button, pressing it quickly before pushing herself to stand up again.

She wondered how long it would take for help to find her.

* * *

Sephiroth stood next to Lazard, studying the screen in front of them with his mako vision. After discovering that Angeal _had_ given the grunts trackers, Sephiroth had told Lazard and the two of them had started searching for the signal which would lead them to where Kayli was being held captive.

Lazard grumbled under his breath about how annoying it was that the signals had to be made so faint and then tapped a few keys on the keyboard. They had received a few pulses from the signal but so far it was proving difficult to narrow down on the actual location.

"I honestly don't know if it's worth it anymore, Sephiroth." Lazard sighed, rubbing a hand across his face.

"What do you mean? This tracker will lead us straight to the rebels." Sephiroth said, narrowing his eyes.

"We don't know that. Look, if Roy was still alive he would have pressed the button. They've probably dumped his dead body somewhere and already travelled far away from it." Lazard explained, slowly pushing his chair away from the computer and standing up. "You'll just have to go question the prisoner again."

"We don't know that Roy is dead." Sephiroth said defiantly. "Maybe he hasn't had a chance to press the button yet. He may have his hands bound."

"Then by all means Sephiroth, continue sitting here trying to close in on the location. If you manage to do that then I'll _think_ about allowing some men out to see whether Roy's still alive or not." Lazard said, heading towards the door.

"You'll need to send more than just a few men." Sephiroth growled.

"We don't even know if the tracker is anywhere near the Wutai-"

"And if it is? You're going to send a few men in to be beaten just as easily as Angeal and Genesis?" Sephiroth interrupted with a snapping tone, clenching his teeth together. Surely Lazard couldn't be stupid enough not to realise...

"Oh, I see. You want me to send you." Lazard folded his arms.

Sephiroth straightened slightly.

"Fine. If you can find the location I'll let you go and see for yourself." Lazard said with a shake of his head. "But if Roy is dead the rebels will be far from his body, I can assure you."

Sephiroth nodded and allowed Lazard to leave, sitting himself down in the now empty chair and focusing on the computer screen. Even if Kayli was dead, he wouldn't find it too hard to pick up on the Wutai soldier's trail. He would kill them all for doing so much damage to the team he had ordered to be sent out. He would have revenge.

Sephiroth was typing another command into the computer when a shrill beep startled him and made him pause, eyes flicking up from the keyboard to the screen. His mouth opened slightly as he saw the large pulse on the frequency monitor and an instant later another shrill beep interrupted the silence. Co-ordinates blinked into existence at the bottom of the screen, changing slightly every few seconds.

The button had been pressed.

Sephiroth only had time to move his head before Lazard rushed into the room again, eyes wide as he came to see what was happening.

"Unbelievable! He's alive!" he gasped.

"I guess we'll be sending a whole rescue squad, then?" Sephiroth asked curiously, feeling smug even though he hadn't been sure whether Kayli was still alive or not for himself.

Lazard nodded immediately, eyes still glued to the screen.

"I'll get onto organising a team right away. You'll be leading it." Lazard said and Sephiroth stood up, squaring his shoulders before leaving the room. He needed to fetch his sword.


	30. Chapter 29

The room was silent save for the soft beeps being emitted from the monitor beside the bed and the occasional creaks which told of the patient shifting his weight. He'd been by himself for a few days now, although he'd only woken up yesterday night to find the frightening reality of his life. It was something he couldn't escape no matter how hard he tried.

The door to the room slowly opened and Davis slipped inside, a cautious expression on his face as he came over and sat on the chair which was beside the bed.

"Hey, Rex," he said quietly. "How are you?"

Rex sighed deeply and turned his head to face his friend, allowing a small grin to show on his face.

"A'right. Tired." he said.

Davis nodded in understanding and leant back in the chair slightly, feeling a bit more relaxed now that he'd seen his friend smile and heard him speak.

"Camon's funeral is today," he informed him. "I would've asked if you could come, but you're gonna need a lot more time to recover and it wouldn't do you any good."

"Yeah," Rex nodded drowsily. "They've got me on lots'a painkillers."

Davis looked down at his lap, trying to take his mind off the bulk of bandages around Rex's left shoulder that were visible under his shirt. He couldn't imagine what it would be like having to suddenly adapt to only having one arm.

And Rex was left-handed.

"So, uh," Davis looked up again. "Get some rest while I'm gone because I'll be coming to see you again afterwards."

"Yes, Sir." Rex chuckled lightly. "Who else is goin' to Camon's funeral?"

"Alec, Jensen and Jinx." Davis said quietly, knowing Rex would want to know why some weren't going.

Rex could sense Davis' hesitance and slowly pushed himself further into a sitting position, leaning to his right more than normal. They didn't speak for a moment before Rex decided to finally ask.

"What happened to everyone else while in Wutai?"

"Jensen got hit by shrapnel in the eye," Davis took a deep breath and sat up straighter. "He'll never be able to see out of it again."

"Jinx?" Rex asked, wincing slightly as he moved a particular way and his stomach twinged in pain.

"He's fine. Only got a few scratches." Davis said, pausing for a moment until he saw Rex's probing look. "Nareau got shot in the arm, I only got a bit of a concussion and... you know about Camon. The other SOLDIERs are fine."

"Cloud didn't go..." Rex said slowly and Davis nodded. "Why isn't he going to the funeral? Doesn't he want to?"

"I- I haven't actually spoken to him since we got back. But he's in the infirmary with mako poisoning."

Rex barked a laugh before groaning in agony at the pain it produced, and Davis couldn't help but grin at his friend.

"It's so like Cloud," Rex gasped. "To not go on a mission... and still manage to get himself in bad shape."

"Ha, I know." Davis laughed.

"So when does the funeral start?" Rex asked.

"Uh, pretty soon. I just wanted to come see you since I found out you'd woken up." Davis admitted.

"Thanks..." Rex rested against the headboard of his bed quietly for a minute before gasping and turning to face Davis with his mouth open. "What happened to Kayli?"

"Hm? Oh..." Davis trailed off, realising he'd forgotten to mention her when telling Rex about all the others. "She was captured by the Wutai soldiers."

"What? And? Is there a rescue team or a-"

"Sephiroth took a team out yesterday. They picked up on the signal from her tracker so they may have already found her! It's just a matter of rescue now, I guess." Davis shrugged.

"Oh my gosh, she must be terrified." Rex sighed. "How've you been dealing with it? I mean, you know, being her boyfriend."

"I just wish I'd stayed next to her the whole time." Davis admitted quietly, fiddling with his fingers and watching them as if he was fascinated.

"I'm sure Sephiroth will find her and bring her back safely." Rex said.

"Yeah, thanks." Davis nodded.

Glancing over at the door, Davis stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Gotta go?" Rex asked.

"Yeah, prob'ly." he said with a quiet sigh. "Get some rest."

"Will do. Thanks for coming to see me, Davis, really." Rex said, beginning to slide himself carefully down to a lying position again.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Davis murmured. "At first... we didn't know if you'd make it or not."

Rex flashed a grin at his friend again and winked. "You won't be able to get rid of me that easy."

"Good." Davis said, smiling back before heading to the door and finally leaving.

* * *

_You'll be safe soon. You'll never have to see him ever again._

But she couldn't go just yet. Lying there on the hard bed that Liam had placed her on earlier that night, Kayli was wide awake. She had pressed the button on her tracker yesterday and ever since then she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Liam.

She wanted to kill him.

It was so simple and plain, but could she do it? She was trembling just _thinking_ about it... would she have the strength? Would she be able to go through with it once she started?

Taking a deep breath and swallowing, she slowly sat up. The wooden post in the middle of the room which went from the roof to the ground was where Liam had tied the rope to and Kayli carefully got out of bed to walk over to it, doing her best not to make a sound. When they were all going to bed, Liam had mentioned he wanted to prove how much he loved her by letting her have a room to herself for privacy.

Clutching at the knot around the wood, Kayli forced herself to be calm as she tried to undo it. Her fingers kept slipping as she fumbled with the rope, but finally she felt it come free and the end of the rope fell to the ground.

_I can do this. I can do this._

She took slow, deliberate limps towards the door and made her way out, ignoring the throbbing pain in her leg which begged for her to sit down and rest. She went down the hallway of the small house they had taken up residence in and suddenly found herself at the door of Liam's room. She knew it was his because when they had first entered he had taken her there to dump his bag before leading her to her own room.

Opening the door with both hands since they were still tied together, Kayli froze as soon as she saw the peaceful, sleeping form of her brother. In the dim light she could almost pretend it was Roy...

_Stop it! He murdered Roy and would have murdered you too if your parents didn't come and rescue you!_

Kayli trembled and stepped further into the room, feeling hot tears roll down her cheeks. She was so desperate! She had to kill him to finally have revenge for Roy's death!

Tucked neatly under the bed were the majority of Liam's weapons, although Kayli could see the handle of a knife sticking out from under his pillow. One wrong move and he would wake up and kill her.

Slowly dropping to her knees, Kayli reached out with her hands towards a knife she could see lying under the bed. With it, she would kill Liam and be rid of all her problems. She just had to move carefully and not make any noise so that he wouldn't wake up.

She held it in her hands. Pulling back swiftly, she held her breath and stared into the face of Liam, who still hadn't moved.

She lifted the knife, her heart hammering fearfully in her chest and begging for her to just return to her bed and forget about everything. What if he woke up? He'd kill her.

Biting her lip so hard it began to bleed, Kayli tightened her grip on the knife and focused on Liam's neck, waiting a few more moments before making a split-second decision and bringing it down as fast as she could so that she wouldn't be able to change her mind.

There was no momentary shriek of pain from Liam that would signify his last moment before he died. There was no sudden pain erupting in her own body somewhere which would signify his waking up, moving, and killing her in defence.

There was only the sudden jerk as her arms stopped moving inches above Liam's neck, the knife glinting in the moonlight gleefully, rejoicing that it hadn't been forced to murder it's owner.

Someone had grabbed her arms. She could see their hands holding her.

How stupid of her to forget that someone would have been on watch.

The hands slowly pulled her to stand up and then removed the knife. She closed her eyes in terror, thinking she would be killed, but when she opened them again she saw a figure standing up from where he had placed the knife in its spot under the bed.

It was Tarou.

Putting a finger to his lips, he gestured for her to follow him out of the room and closed the door behind her, slowly leading her towards the front door of the house and taking her outside.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't allow you to kill him."

Kayli remained silent.

"Listen, I've been in touch with ShinRa and any minute now they'll be here to collect you and take you back. You're going to be fine." he continued, looking at her with genuine concern in his eyes.

She still couldn't find words to say. Feeling Tarou's fingers softly wiping her cheeks, she became aware of the fact that she was crying harder than she had been before. A sob caught in her throat and she squeezed her eyes shut, suddenly grabbing onto Tarou and burying her face in his chest.

"It's okay, everything's gonna be fine." he murmured comfortingly, stroking her hair.

Only a few moments later Kayli felt herself being gently pushed away and a new set of arms surrounded her, lifting her off the ground and beginning to carry her away. Opening her eyes slightly, she caught a glimpse of silver hair before establishing it had to be Sephiroth. She was going to be safe.

Again she was handed to someone else, this time with words along with it, "Take her back to the truck. I'll be there in-"

A strangled cry interrupted Sephiroth and Kayli's eyes flung open in horror. She twisted her head to look past the 1st Class SOLDIER and her breath left her lungs as she saw Tarou stumble forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground with a knife sticking out of his back.

Kuja and Kuta emerged from the darkness of the house, guns and knives in their hands and sick smiles twisting on their faces.

"Always thought he was a traitor," one of them muttered to the other. "You owe me."

Kayli found herself being carried away quickly and she could hear the shouts of various other soldiers giving directions to each other. She caught a glimpse of Sephiroth running towards the house with his sword raised and then her eyes closed again. She was so exhausted. Her leg was throbbing more than before. She wanted to sleep.

_"Mummy!"

* * *

_

_Roy darted into the kitchen and squealed as he almost ran headlong into his mother. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders to steady him, narrowing her eyes slightly as she prepared to scold him for his behaviour._

_ "Roy Dean Peters," she said firmly. "If you ever run in the kitchen like that again I-"_

_ "Can I smell something cooking?"_

_ Mrs Peters was interrupted as her husband entered and her grip on Roy slackened, allowing him to slip past and secretly take one of the choc-chips which were on the bench waiting to eventually be added to the cookie dough._

_ "We haven't really started yet," she said with a sigh. "Roy and Kayli wanted to help me with it so I've said they can."_

_ "Great!" Mr Peters smiled, chuckling as he saw Roy's 'innocent' face. "Is there room for another in here?"_

_ "Of course!"_

_ So, once Kayli finally appeared in the kitchen as well, the four family members set to work preparing choc-chip cookies. Roy and Kayli quite happily mixed the dough together once it was time, laughing and flicking it at each other when their parents weren't watching._

_ Unfortunately, it was one such time as this when Kayli missed her brother and managed to get a dob of cookie dough straight on her mother's nose._

_ "Mummy!" She exclaimed before freezing in horror and amazement, her mouth open. She wasn't sure whether she should laugh or start apologising._

_ "Oh Kayli," her mother sighed with a smile. "Try to keep it in the bowl next time, alright?"_

_ Kayli went red and nodded, beginning to giggle. Roy was already laughing his head off and she trod on his foot to try and make him shut up, but he only laughed harder._

_ "Let's just try and get as far as putting it in the oven, okay kids?" their father asked with a laugh, moving over to take the bowl from them. Also picking up a wooden spoon, he began tipping the dough into the cookie tray._

_ "Let me do that!" Roy said, ducking under his fathers' arm so that he was standing between him and the bench, his arms reaching out._

_ "Okay, here," his father handed him the wooden spoon but still held the bowl himself, smiling as he watched Roy scrape harshly at the dough. "Don't strain yourself."_

_ "I won't!' Roy laughed._

_ "Come on Kayli," their mother said, motioning to her daughter. "You need to wash your hands now."_

_ "Wait!" Kayli protested, dodging her mothers arms and beginning to lick her fingers. "I don't want this to go down the drain, it tastes too good!" she explained with a wide smile._

_ "Well I can't argue with that!" Mrs Peters shook her head in amusement._

_ Once everything was finally done and the cookies were beginning to cook in the oven, they all washed their hands. While the parents then moved to the family room, Roy and Kayli tore off to their room._

_ "They're gonna taste so good when they're done." Roy sighed, flopping down onto his bed._

_ "I know! I hope they don't take too long," Kayli sat down on her bed and looked over at her twin brother. "After all that work I'm totally ready to eat one. Or two. Or three."_

_ She giggled when Roy raised an eyebrow at her and soon they were giggling again._

_ "I could eat ten!" Roy said between giggles._

_ "Oh yeah? I bet I could eat twenty!" Kayli challenged._

_ "Uh, how about _without_ throwing up?" Roy teased, throwing a pillow at her. She caught it and glared at him, poking her tongue out._

_ "You're just jealous."_

* * *

Lee had woken quickly after the battle began and gathered his things in an instant. Then, as soon as Kuja-ta and Yakov fled to his room with the bags of supplies they all escaped through the window and just kept running. They had to put as much distance between themselves and the SOLDIERs as possible, especially since Sephiroth was with them.

Lee was furious that Kayli had escaped. He had been tempted to turn and run back to try and snatch her again, but he knew his men wouldn't survive without him. So instead he fuelled his anger into running and fighting. He had pulled out his gun and was concentrating intensely on hearing their followers footsteps before whipping his arm back to fire. Yakov was constantly pulling pins out of grenades and hurling them over his shoulder, smiling in satisfaction every time an explosion was heard. Along with Kuja-ta shooting as well, they were only just managing to stay ahead and alive.

It came as a great surprise when Lee could no longer hear pursuing feet or enemy gunshots. The group did not slow, not knowing whether it was a trick or not, but after another hour they came across a well hidden, hollowed-out hill which they stopped in to get their breath back and wait.

Nothing was said for another two hours, but then when no SOLDIERs had attacked them and they hadn't heard anything at all, Lee allowed Yakov to venture out and take a look.

He returned to them shaking his head and shrugging.

"Nothing. It's safe." he said.

So they left their supplies in the hide-out and crept out to make a fire for their food, but Lee left them with that job as he wandered off through the trees, still simmering with anger.

He clenched his fists as he walked, his vision swimming and his heart pounding painfully in his chest. They had taken her. He had been going to make her understand everything but they took her away! How was he supposed to retrieve her now? The others wouldn't care at all.

In an instant he had frozen and closed his eyes. Of course. He would tell them they were going to rescue Sergei and then while there, he would find Kayli. Then she would see just how much he cared about her and she would come back willingly.

Heading back to the fire, Lee sat down on the ground and was quiet for a while, deciding not to bring up his plan just yet. Yakov had begun cooking their food and Kuja-ta were keeping a lookout in case the ShinRa SOLDIERs were still searching for them.

"So," Yakov started. "Should we find another group and join with them? You know we won't have much of a chance against anyone if there's only four of us."

"That's a good idea." Lee nodded in agreement.

"What are you thinking?" Kuja asked him curiously, eyes narrowed. He could tell by the look in Lee's eyes that he had something on his mind and didn't want to be kept in the dark.

"All in good time," Lee smirked, lowering his head. "But I'm sure you'll like the idea."

Kuja and Kuta exchanged a frustrated glance but didn't say anything else, knowing Lee could get very angry very quickly.

"When do we start looking for another group, then?" Yakov asked, deciding not to pursue that topic since he saw the unnerving expression on his leader's face.

Lifting his head slowly, Lee looked around at his three companions and then stood up, dusting his pants off.

"Whenever we are ready we should head out. I know where the closest group should be and it will only take two days to reach them from here. They will help us..." he paused and allowed the others to fully see the smirk on his face, hoping to strike fear into them. "We should eat first. Then we'll head out."

Yakov whistled lowly, shaking his head slightly as he continued to cook their food. He never had imagined what it would be like when he had first joined Lee's group, and now he was definitely looking forward to having some others around who might be able to drum some sense into the man.

Kuja pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up, raising an eyebrow when Lee walked over and took one as well, not meeting his eyes as he acted as if the cigarettes were his own and lit it before shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

The twins had been with Lee for the longest amount of time. When 'Liam' had first arrived in Wutai at the age of seventeen they had only been fifteen and hurriedly latched onto him when he spoke of his dream to free Wutai from the oppression of ShinRa. They had become inseparable, being their own small group of unofficial soldiers until Sergei had come along – twenty-two, since it was a year after Liam's first arrival – and transformed them into real soldiers fighting for the cause.

It hadn't been long before Liam took control of the group, pushing Sergei back from an authorial position to ensure he himself had full control over the group. Yakov and Tarou had shown up consecutively after that and it was only much more recently when Qurt had joined them.

Kuja and Kuta were perhaps the only ones who knew that since the moment Sergei stepped into their group, he had been in control. On every mission they undertook, Liam would give orders and then Sergei would whisper alterations into individual ears, making sure the plan worked and effectively having the last say.

Glancing at each other instinctively, knowing they were thinking the same thing, they both smirked. Liam was going to take them to ShinRa on the pretence of rescuing Sergei and would then search for Kayli to get her out. Sergei would once again take control of their group in the background and Liam would be too preoccupied with his sister to realise.

Chuckling quietly to themselves, Kuja and Kuta looked away from each other again, hoping Lee wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary and question them.


	31. Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this one, it was really difficult to write for some reason... =/ Anyway, Thanks for being so patient and I hope you really enjoy reading this chapter! Also... I almost have 100 reviews on this story! How exciting is that? Hehe. OH YEAH! And I now have 150 pages in total for this story! Gosh it's long. Haha.

Alright well thanks for reading guys! And thanks to everyone who's been with me from the start! 30 seems like such a milestone...

* * *

Cloud blinked wearily as he fumbled for the glass of water which he knew had been on the table beside his bed the last time he checked. For some reason he couldn't find it anymore and he wondered if it had been taken away while he slept.

Groaning and giving up, he dropped his arm down again and closed his eyes, trying to battle away the headache which threatened to increase its intensity. He also didn't want to have to look around and see the green tinge over everything which was an effect of the mako he had been given. It wasn't an incredibly obvious green covering his vision, but it was definitely there when he concentrated – which, amazingly, he could do exceedingly well in his current state.

Apart from the headache, slight tingling in his limbs and the inability to move quickly, Cloud was okay. He hadn't tried to talk yet since the medical staff never allowed him to, always hurriedly shushing him if he tried to, and his small number of visitors who had come in didn't say anything worth answering.

But as Cloud shifted sluggishly around on the bed to find a comfortable position so that he could drift back to sleep and wait for the effects of the mako to wear off, the door opened and someone walked in.

"Cloud?"

The blond opened his eyes again with a sigh and looked up to see Jinx. Why was the green-haired boy coming to visit him? They'd never really spoken much at all. But wait... it suddenly dawned on Cloud that that meant they were all back from Wutai!

"J-J-" Cloud growled in his head, annoyed at his new discovery that he couldn't speak properly yet either. He could make perfectly clear sentences in his head, so why couldn't he say them aloud?

"They say you should be up and about tomorrow," Jinx said. "Good as new."

Cloud closed his eyes and concentrated intensely on his vocal chords. He needed to ask Jinx about the others and he _would_ succeed. "Th'others. W-Wutai. They okay?"

He opened his eyes again, tired from the strain, and was pleased to see that Jinx did not look confused at all.

"I was_ hoping_ you'd ask about that!"

On the contrary, Jinx looked unnaturally excited. Cloud began to wonder if it had been a good idea to ask as the green-haired boy pulled up a chair and sat down, beaming as he leant towards Cloud and rubbed his hands together as if he was scheming evilly.

"See, when we got in Wutai, we were _immediately_ under attack! There were Wutai soldiers all around – like, _millions_ – and we had to fight our absolute hardest just to stay alive! We were so outnumbered that there was no way we were going to win the fight! I still can't believe I-"

Jinx stopped, most definitely because he had just noticed Cloud's eyes were closed in disinterest and there was no longer a captive audience to tell his story to.

"Alright, alright," he sighed and succeeded in making Cloud open his eyes again. "I'll tell the truth this time. No exaggerations... well I don't actually promise that. But I'll be more serious."

Cloud swallowed and looked around for his glass of water again but quickly returned his gaze to Jinx, giving him his attention to let him know he could begin telling the story again.

"The short version is that when we got into Wutai, they knew we were there. Interestingly, there weren't too many Wutai soldiers at all, but they were really skilled. Injuries were varied from minor to major. Of course, I hardly got injured at all. Others... weren't so lucky." Jinx frowned, leaning back in his chair and preparing to tell the bad news bluntly. He wasn't good at sugar coating things. "Camon was murdered. Jensen is blind in one eye and Rex lost his left arm."

"W-what?" Cloud gasped, his breathing becoming erratic. "Rex? His _arm_?"

"Yeah. He was also shot in the stomach... we didn't know if he'd make it at first but he pulled through, thank goodness." Jinx ran a hand across the top of his Mohawk briefly. "The only other thing there is to tell is that Roy was captured by the Wutai soldiers. But don't worry, Sephiroth took a team in to get him out again and he's resting a few doors down from you right now."

"Wh-" Cloud couldn't believe it. So much had happened! "Why was..."

"Why was he captured?" Cloud nodded. "Dunno. But one of the Wutai soldiers looked so much like him they could be related. D'you think they are? Wow, that would be weird. But don't worry, once you're all better you can ask him for yourself."

Jinx continued to ramble on about anything and everything for a while until he realised Cloud had fallen asleep and made his way out of the room. Heading down to the room where he knew Roy was staying, he opened the door and stepped in.

"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked. Davis was sitting on a chair beside Roy's bed, his eyes tired.

"Not too bad," Roy shrugged, looking down at his hands. Jinx nodded slowly to show he understood and then he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Cloud's doing okay," he said then, not liking the silence. He needed to keep talking. "He should be up and about tomorrow, but he still can't really talk or move right now. Gosh, that stuff must've really reacted badly with his system. I can't believe he's not allowed to be a SOLDIER because of something as stupid as that."

"Does he know, yet?" Davis asked quietly.

Jinx frowned as he looked over at him. "Know that he can't be a SOLDIER? I didn't ask."

Another silence took the room and Jinx shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to say. He briefly wondered whether he'd interrupted something as he glanced from Davis to Roy, but he definitely knew now was not the time to start asking about Roy's secret again. Besides, he'd find out in time.

"Well, get better soon Roy." Jinx said finally, deciding to leave in case he wasn't wanted. Why anyone wouldn't want him around was a mystery to him, but apparently it was possible.

"Thanks," Roy said. "Hopefully I'll be up again soon."

Jinx nodded with a grin and then turned, leaving the room and skipping down the corridor outside. He needed to find someone who wasn't sick to terrorise.

* * *

Reno was in the foyer of the ShinRa building, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration as his fingers worked meticulously over the buttons of his PHS. Occasionally his tongue would peek out from the corner of his mouth but mostly it kept hidden. As a sudden sharp hiss left his mouth, he tipped the PHS to the side and tilted his head as well.

"C'mon, yo!" he grumbled under his breath. He forced himself not to blink for the next few seconds despite the sting since he felt that he really needed to concentrate and watch what he was doing. If he could just get the last virtual chocobo into the enclosure...

"Yo, Reno, yo!"

"Ahh!" Reno jumped a foot high and dropped his PHS on the floor, effectively losing his game as he spun around to face the constantly-annoying grunt Jinx. He should have expected no less.

"Hey, yo! So you doing anything right now? We could totally go crash a party and pick up some chicks, yo!" Jinx rambled on excitedly. It wasn't often that he got to speak to the redhead without being thrown across the room.

"Stop pretending to be like me!" Reno yelled.

"I'm not, yo!" Jinx retorted instantly.

"Oh yeah? You never say 'yo' around your friends, do you? Do you think it's cool or something, hey? 'Cause it's not, yo!" Reno snapped.

"Then why do _you_ say it?" Jinx asked, folding his arms and now glaring.

"I just... I mean, it-" Reno's face went so red with anger that Jinx actually wondered if the older man would punch him. "It's not something I think about! It just comes out, yo!"

"So? Who cares? _I_ think it's cool!" Jinx said.

"Okay, seriously? You need to get out of here before I decide your face looks better smashed up, yo." Reno said. The whole stalker-issue with Jinx was getting out of hand. "I am going to go help the lovely people who just walked in now and you have ten seconds to leave or I'm going to make a scene."

Turning on his heel, Reno pasted a smile onto his face and walked over to the group of five who had entered the building. He was completely oblivious to the fact that Jinx had sneakingly picked his PHS off the floor and run off with it.

"How may I help you, yo?"

The man at the front of the group looked up at him with a concerned expression on his face. Reno assumed the woman right beside him was his wife and also guessed the other two adults were married. The girl standing there with her head down in shame? She looked like she belonged with the second couple.

"I was wondering," the man said then. "Would you be able to tell me where to find a-a-"

The girl stepped forward as the man was unable to complete his sentence. She looked like she was going to cry any second but held her chin up and looked Reno right in the eyes bravely.

"We're here to visit Roy Peters. He's a grunt." Her lip quivered and then she hurriedly swiped at her eye with the back of her hand.

"All of you?" Reno asked with a raised eyebrow. The name sounded vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it before.

"Yes." the girl nodded firmly.

"Well... you're gonna have to talk to the girl at the desk about that, yo. Don't know if it'll happen, see," Reno scratched his head. "A lot of the grunts are wounded from being in Wutai."

"_Wutai?_" the woman at the front exclaimed before slapping a hand over her mouth in disbelief.

"...Yeah." Reno confirmed awkwardly.

"Did-" the girl paused. "Did anyone die?"

"Yeah, I heard there was a death." Reno nodded solemnly. "Think it was one of the SOLDIERs though, so it wouldn't have been whoever you're here to visit, yo."

"Right well," the man glanced at his wife briefly. "We'll go speak to the woman at the desk then."

"Sure, go ahead. You might have to wait a few days though remember, just warning you, yo." Reno let his eyes wash over the group one last time before shoving his hands into his pockets and walking off.

It was when he had turned four corners that he realised he didn't have his phone on him and that Jinx had probably stolen it from him. Then he promptly made his way to the floor the grunts were staying on as fast as possible so that he could try and get it back.

Most of the rooms that he barged into were empty, but finally he reached one with a grunt inside, who jumped back in shock as the Turk burst in.

"Name?" Reno snapped.

"Alec Freshstone!" the grunt said at once.

"Tell me where I can find Jay Inks!"

There was a pause and Reno could tell the grunt was struggling to think of something to say. In fact, he looked _confused_.

"I'm really sorry Sir," Alec finally spoke. "I don't know anyone by the name Jay Inks."

"Oh for goodness sake! He calls himself Jinx, yo." Reno said with a sigh.

"Okay... sorry, I have no idea where he would be. Maybe... maybe he's in the infirmary with the others?"

"You grunts are so _use_less." Reno groaned, turning and leaving the room.

Once he finally reached the infirmary and spoke to the staff to see whether they'd seen a kid with a green Mohawk, he discovered that Jinx was lurking somewhere nearby. Since he had no idea who Jinx was friends with and would be visiting, he spent his time going past every patient and into each separate room.

Was Jinx hiding in a cupboard waiting to jump out or something?

The final door he reached was slightly open and he sighed before pushing it open and stepping inside. There were two people inside and it was then that Reno remembered where he'd heard the name Roy Peters. It was the boy with a secret worth Sephiroth's attention. The _girl._

So her parents had come to take her home, had they?

"Sorry for interrupting," Reno said as he glanced from Kayli to Davis. "I'm looking for Jinx. Have you seen him?"

"He was in here about ten minutes ago." Davis shrugged.

"And you haven't seen him since?" Reno asked just to make sure. When Davis shook his head he nodded. "Thanks anyway. Oh and Peters, how's your leg?"

Kayli glanced momentarily at her bandaged leg before back up at Reno. The look in his eyes made her think he was hiding something from her but she shrugged it off, thinking she was analysing too much and he was probably only looking at her differently since he knew she was a girl now – she assumed he did, anyway, after what Sephiroth had said about talking to him.

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt as much as it did before."

"When do you think you'll be up and about again?" Reno asked nonchalantly.

"I don't know yet, but not for a while. I've been told I have to get friends to bring me my work so I don't fall behind in classes."

"Wow, you must be over the moon, yo." Reno chuckled.

"Yeah." Kayli muttered, smiling slightly at his sarcasm.

"Okay well, if you see Jinx tell him I'm planning his death." Reno said, lifting his hand slightly to wave before slipping out of the room again and leaving them alone.

Kayli slowly sunk back down against her pillow and closed her eyes, wishing she didn't feel so horrible. She just couldn't get him out of her head. He had been so close to her! He had hurt her so badly and yet told her that he cared about her. She had always thought there was something wrong with him, but to act so bipolar? Did he actually have a medical condition?

"Stop thinking about it."

Kayli looked over at Davis, startled out of her thoughts, and sighed. She was so glad he was there to keep her from dwelling on what had happened too much. Although sometimes... she needed to be a girl and let her emotions show.

"Can you go check on Rex for me?" she asked quietly.

"Of course." Davis said, a slight frown on his face as he stood from his chair. "You'll be alright?"

"I'll be fine. Rex needs company too, you know." Kayli said with a smile.

"I know... but he's not the one who just got back from being kidnapped by his psychotic brother who tried to kill him." Davis said quietly. Kayli hadn't told him everything that had happened yet and she didn't particularly want to, but Davis knew enough of her past now to guess that it hadn't been a vacation in the slightest.

"Just go. He's your best friend since way before we even met." Kayli urged him with a smile. She didn't want him to worry about her.

"Fine, but I'll be back soon." Davis said reluctantly, stretching slightly as he walked over to the door and left.

Kayli closed her eyes again, her mind wandering almost immediately. She could see his face again. But this time he was smiling kindly at her as if he really did care... though she knew that wasn't possible as she thought of Roy.

A quiet, trembling sigh passed through her lips and Kayli felt a tear slip out from under her eyelid. She missed Roy so much.

* * *

Sergei stared defiantly at Sephiroth. The long-haired SOLDIER had returned as promised and now stood opposite the prisoner with his arms folded in order to appear threatening. Whether it was working or not, Sergei would not allow his face to show.

"My men reported seeing six Wutai soldiers the day of the attack," Sephiroth said slowly. "Is that how many men there are in your group or are there more?"

"I don't know." Sergei said swiftly and stubbornly. He sat back in his chair and tilted his head innocently.

Sephiroth took a step forward and let his arms fall to his sides, glaring down at Sergei.

"How much have you told them about ShinRa?" he asked in a hiss.

"Who?" Sergei asked, feigning ignorance.

"Your men. How much of the things you learnt here at ShinRa have you taught them?" Sephiroth clarified, playing along with Sergei's game for now.

"What do you think?"

"I think you taught them everything you knew. You said last time that you were training them since you formed a group so you must have ended up imparting all of your knowledge to them." Sephiroth said smugly. Sergei didn't respond, not even shifting in his seat as he continued to stare.

Sephiroth grabbed the chair opposite Sergei and sat down in it, his eyes narrowing curiously.

"I never had you pinned as a background man," he said slowly. "I thought you would have wanted to be the obvious leader rather than the secret one."

"Sometimes people are more willing to do what you want when they don't think you're actually in charge of them." Sergei said indifferently.

"You admit you have a position of authority then? Even if the other 'leader' may not know it?" Sephiroth asked. Sergei was silent again. "Are you the one in charge of where to go next and where to make camp?"

"You actually expect me to answer any of your questions seriously?" Sergei asked with a slight scoff.

Sephiroth sighed and looked down at the table, his face showing a glimpse of his inner turmoil.

"I was hoping you would be more cooperative than this." he admitted softly.

"You were wrong."

"Don't blame me for what happens next." Sephiroth said, looking up at him once more. There was disgust and disappointment in his eyes and somehow Sergei knew that only the disappointment was directed at him.

"You mean you're going to torture me?" Sergei asked in a mocking tone.

"No," Sephiroth shook his head, standing up. Sergei frowned as he watched the General begin walking towards the door. It was over just like that? What had happened to make everyone at ShinRa go soft while he was gone? "I'm not going to do anything to you."

Sephiroth opened the door then and stepped out.

In his place, two Turks entered. One was carrying a briefcase which was then placed on the table and the other securely closed and locked the door to the room. The clasps on the briefcase were clicked open and it was opened with the contents still hidden from Sergei.

He didn't have to look to know what it was, though. Everyone knew Turks were in charge of ShinRa's dirty work so there was really only one thing they could have brought with them into the interrogation room.

Preparing himself for a lot of pain soon to come, Sergei clenched his teeth and concentrated on keeping his expression entirely neutral.

In the corridor outside, Sephiroth cursed his once-friend for being so stubborn.


	32. Chapter 31

Lee, Kuja-ta and Yakov found another rebellion group by the end of the week. As soon as Yakov slipped out Sergei's name they were accepted like long-lost brothers and bombarded with questions of how the older man was doing and how he had been captured by ShinRa. It was a given fact that they would help retrieve him.

Yet as Lee sat by the fire one night with his men and others scattered around him, he felt uncomfortable. He was not in control here – oh no, the man called Orn was the one everyone looked up to – and it was assumed that since Sergei had been kidnapped they had had no one to lead them. For some reason they did not see Lee as the leader-type.

"You say they followed you a short distance and then gave up?" Orn clarified, directing his question to Kuta who had just finished telling of their near-escape from ShinRa. Since Lee was on edge, Kuta had decided to leave out the detail of his sister being kidnapped – or rescued, depending on how you viewed the situation.

"Yes," Kuta inclined his head. "All sounds of pursuit died away although, in case it was a trap, we continued on."

"Wise decision." Orn said with a nod.

"We haven't seen them since, though," Kuta frowned and glanced at his brother who sat beside him with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth lazily. "It makes me wonder what was so important..."

Trailing off, he looked up at the dark sky. Why was Kayli so important to ShinRa that they would send Sephiroth out to get her back? Or maybe it was Liam who was important to them and they only kidnapped Kayli in order to bait him? Besides, such special interest had never been shown to a single Wutai rebellion group before. Sephiroth usually only came when many groups banded together to fight against them.

Orn stretched and cracked his knuckles, a yawn stretching across his mouth.

"So when do we head to ShinRa, then?"

The question took them by surprise and Orn chuckled in amusement as Kuja-ta, Lee _and_ Yakov all looked at him at once.

"As soon as possible." Lee recovered first.

"Excellent. I'll need to show you our secret weapon soon in that case. Not really a weapon, I suppose. Just something we've got up our sleeves and were waiting for the right moment to reveal." Orn said, his eyes piercing into Lee's own.

"Sounds intriguing." Lee said.

"It is."

Orn's eyes twinkled with mischief and Lee frowned slightly. He didn't like how the man could be so laid back when they were in the middle of a war. Why anyone would follow him into battle, Lee did not know.

"When will we discover this secret of yours?" Kuja asked with a raised eyebrow, talking awkwardly around his cigarette.

"Well if you don't want to wait I can show you tonight." Orn got to his feet and turned, signalling to one of his men who nodded and disappeared into a tent he had been standing outside of.

A few moments of silence later, a boy no older than ten emerged from the tent and took slow, cautious steps towards them.

"This is Viktor," Orn introduced him, a grin on his face. Once the boy was in reach, he slapped him on the back. "Viki, these men would like to see your ship."

The boy looked up at Orn nervously before turning around and walking back towards the tent.

"Come on, then," Orn said to them, following the boy. As soon as Lee stood, the other three did too and soon they were all walking after the boy and Orn. The tent looked small, so Lee wasn't sure how they were supposed to fit, but he kept his mouth shut and obediently pushed the tent-flap aside when it was his turn.

The inside of the tent was empty. Lee wondered if he was being led into a trap until he glanced down and noticed Orn was descending into a hole in the ground.

Eyes widening at the prospect of entering an underground labyrinth, Lee wasted no time stepping forward to follow the other man down. He was reminded of his days spent in Junon with old friends when they would travel out to the mountains and explore the natural caves in the rock faces.

And that sparked another memory. One of a young boy screaming and thrashing, covered in his own blood whilst pleading for his life to be spared. Begging to see his sister again. Crying constantly.

Orn turned to stare at Lee curiously when he began to chuckle. It didn't stop his insane cackling, though. To have someone watching was even better. He had loved scaring his friends with his horrific urges.

It was there again. Under his skin like a rushing poison. It had been a week since they had encountered any enemies and even then they had not fought. No blood had been spilled by his hands and he was feeling the cravings again.

"Don't mind Lee," Kuta called forward, apparently having seen the look Orn gave him. "He's probably thinking about murdering someone."

And how very right he was, Lee thought to himself, although he would never say it aloud. Even though he sometimes thought the twins knew more about him that they let on, he would never give them the satisfaction of knowing for certain.

"Ah, he certainly does look the part of a psychopath doesn't he?" Orn chuckled as he finally stepped down into a large, round room. Viki was further ahead, standing beside an enormous ShinRa helicopter that seemed to make the boy look even smaller than he was.

All talk of Lee's insanity ceased as the small rebellion group gathered to stare. None of them could speak for a few minutes, which only seemed to enlarge Orn's ego to double the size it was before – they could tell because the man puffed out his chest in pride.

"How'd you get that thing down here?" Yakov asked finally, his voice sounding slightly choked as he was in such disbelief.

"And how are you planning to get it out?" Lee added, glancing at Yakov's look of shock before back at the helicopter.

"Viki brought it down here piece by piece. It was all smashed up when we first found it but he refused to leave it alone. Smartest kid I've ever known, he is." Orn grinned at Viktor with pride and then continued. "As for getting it out, I figured we'd just blast the roof off."

"That's certainly one way to do it." Kuja muttered, spitting out his cigarette and stomping on it with his heel. "But how's a helicopter going to help us?"

"It'll get us to ShinRa faster for starters," Orn began. "Secondly, it'll provide a quick get-away once we find Sergei."

"How do you know it'll fly?" Lee asked doubtfully.

"One way to find out, isn't there?" Orn said with a huff of a laugh. "C'mon Viki, let's get her started up and I'll fetch the explosives."

Viki turned to the helicopter and opened the door, jumping up into the seat. Lee's eyes widened and he grabbed hold of Orn's arm firmly as the man went to walk past him.

"That kid can fly a helicopter?" he asked in shock.

"Y'know, I had wondered when I first saw you but now you've just confirmed it in my mind. You're not actually from Wutai are you?" Orn asked harshly, making Lee let go of the man and take a step back.

"What makes you say that?"

"If you were born and raised in Wutai, you wouldn't be so surprised." Orn gestured at Yakov and Kuja-ta, all three of who were quite indifferent to the fact that the boy was flicking switches and preparing for the roof to be blown apart so he could fly the helicopter out.

"If this is gonna cause a problem between us, you need to tell me right now." Lee said, wanting to make sure Orn knew he wasn't a pushover. Just because he wasn't born in Wutai didn't mean he couldn't fight for the country.

"No problem." Orn said gruffly, moving past and heading back up the hole.

"Let's go then," Yakov said excitedly. "I wanna see this baby blow from up there!"

Scowling, Lee followed his men up above ground again and stepped aside for Orn to go back down with the explosives.

The sooner they got to ShinRa and found Kayli, the better. He could really use her company about now.

* * *

Two weeks. In only two weeks Kayli was up on her feet again thanks to the advanced Heal materia in the hands of the medical staff. Doing theory work while bed-ridden was not her idea of fun, so she was ecstatic to be up and physically active once more.

She hadn't gotten far, however, when she ran into Cloud and Alec. Both of them had visited her regularly, as soon as Cloud had recovered from the mako poisoning, to talk as well as give her work so she didn't fall behind in classes. As Kayli looked at them in the corridor, though, she didn't think they looked too good.

"What's up?" she asked cautiously. Alec was incredibly pale and his eyes were darting around fearfully, whilst Cloud's eyebrows were furrowed deeply.

"Someone's here to see you." Alec said quietly.

In that instant, a panic gripped Kayli and she had to fight just to keep standing. Had Liam followed her out here, all the way to Midgar, just to get her back? Would she ever escape the nightmares from her past which refused to give up the chase?

"Surely Sephiroth... won't he-" Her vision swam. "They can't just..."

"Whoa!" Cloud raised his hands quickly to calm her down. "We don't mean anyone from Wutai! It's just your parents and Alec's family."

The relief from knowing that Liam had_ not_ come to take her back was pushed aside by anxiety. Why had Gemma brought them here? Were they going to take her home and stop her from fulfilling her dream – Roy's dream – of becoming a SOLDIER?

"Where are they?" she asked slowly.

"Actually, that's the thing..." Alec mumbled, glancing at Cloud before the two of them stepped aside and two other people emerged from behind the corner.

"Oh Kayli!" her mother exclaimed, tears shining in her eyes as she looked at her daughter and took in the new appearance which was so like the twin brother who was no longer around. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"You wouldn't have let me go." Kayli said softly, doing her best not to break down into tears as well. As much as she wanted to stay at ShinRa, she had missed her parents a lot more than she first realised. Seeing them face to face again... she just wanted to collapse into their arms and be protected from everything in the world that would ever try to harm her – especially Liam.

But if she was going to become a SOLDIER, she had to be strong. She couldn't allow herself to appear so weak in front of her friends either, even though they knew she was a girl and probably _expected_ it.

"For your own good!" her mother said, taking a tentative step closer. "We heard you were sent to Wutai. We've been waiting for almost two weeks just to see you! Thank goodness you're... you look fine."

"I am fine. There's nothing wrong. You should go home." Kayli said firmly.

"When we leave, you're coming with us! Please Kayli, you can't keep up this pretence forever. Sooner or later someone is going to find out – someone who isn't a friend – and then you'll be in so much trouble we won't be able to help you!" her father piped up.

"That's not going to happen!" Kayli snapped. "Even if Lazard or the President does find out, just the fact that I've lasted this long must mean something! I'll fight to stay here, so don't you dare try and convince me to leave before I've even at least taken the SOLDIER exam!"

If Kayli wasn't so preoccupied defending her brother's dream to her parents, she might have been amused by the shocked expressions on Alec and Cloud's faces. They had never seen her so passionate about something before and were surprised by this sudden display of determination.

"If I have to," her father said in a low, threatening tone which made Kayli tense even more, "I will tell everyone you are a girl and _drag_ you back to Junon. Do you have any idea how dangerous it was to go to Wutai? What if you're sent again and... and you see him?"

Obviously, Kayli thought to herself, they haven't been told all the details of what happened in Wutai. Hopefully she would be able to keep it that way.

"I'm not leaving." Kayli shook her head. "Try as hard as you want, but with Sephir-"

An alarm suddenly rang out in the corridor, making Kayli freeze up and instinctively tilt her head to the roof where the noise spilled from. Along with the noise, red lights began flashing in the corridors.

"What's going on?" Kayli's mother asked fearfully, trying to be heard above the sound of the alarm.

"It's a red alert!" Cloud said, grabbing Kayli's parents and beginning to steer them down the corridor. Whenever there was an emergency, orders were to either hide or go somewhere to wait for instructions. Cloud was taking her parents to hide.

"Wait, what about Kayli?" her mother screamed, fighting to try and get back to her daughter. Cloud held her firmly however, despite his small form, and continued to drag them down the corridor.

"I'll look after her, don't worry!" Alec called after them before clenching his teeth, grabbing Kayli's arm and running in the opposite direction. It was a good thing Kayli's leg was better or she wouldn't have been able to keep up with him.

After hurtling around countless corners and almost crashing into many other ShinRa employees, Alec and Kayli found themselves surrounded by others all waiting anxiously for instructions.

Angeal was standing in front of the crowd, already assigning certain people to different tasks. Not wanting to wait longer before finding out what was happening, Kayli pushed through to the front of the crowd and tried to get his attention.

"Angeal! Sir, please!"

"What is it?" he asked, looking over at her after sending a couple other regular soldiers down the corridor at a run.

"What's happened?" Kayli asked.

"The Wutai prisoner has escaped." Angeal said with a sigh, watching her carefully as he was unsure how she was going to react to this news.

"With or without outside help?" Kayli asked immediately, doing her best to keep formal in her question and not appear stressed or worried at all. By the looks of things, Angeal was impressed with her down-to-business attitude.

"No outside help. He escaped during a routine interrogation session with some Turks and should be fairly easy to track down since he is injured and leaving a blood trail." Angeal explained.

"Leaving a blood trail? Why hasn't he been found yet?" Kayli asked in confusion.

"That's the weird thing," Angeal said in exhaustion, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. "We tried to follow the blood trail but it split off in multiple directions and each one of them eventually ceased. I don't know how he did it but he can't possibly keep it up forever."

"You mean he's already had time to fake different trails _and_ somehow stop the bleeding so that he can now move around undetected?" Kayli gasped.

"Like I said, I don't understand it." Angeal said.

"I don't like the sound of this at all," Alec said with a frown from beside Kayli. "Are you sure he had no outside help?"

"Not as far as we know..." Angeal murmured, staring off into the distance anxiously. "It worries me that other Wutai soldiers may have gotten into the building without being seen."

"Where's Sephiroth? Maybe he knows more about what's going on." Kayli suggested, clenching her hands into fists as she tried not to think about her parents, Gemma and Gemma's parents all being in the ShinRa building while there was a possibility that more than one Wutai soldier was also wandering around unseen.

"I'm not sure," Angeal shrugged honestly. "But if you're gonna go looking for him, you may as well do a sweep of floor 49 while you're at it."

"Sure," Kayli nodded. "We'll get on it right away."

She and Alec hurriedly moved away then, allowing Angeal to give out more instructions to others as well. Rounding a corner, Kayli was about to move into a jog when Alec grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"What's wrong?" she asked as soon as she saw his eyes. The fear in them reminded her of what she herself was feeling.

"I know I told your parents I'd look after you," Alec said nervously. "It's just... I have to find Gemma and make sure she's okay. You understand, right?"

Kayli smiled lightly and nodded. "Go ahead, I'll be fine."

"I'm so sorry I'm making you go by yourself-"

"Roy!"

Kayli turned at the voice in time to see Davis and Jensen running up and grinned weakly at them. Jensen still had light bandages over his eye from where he'd been hit with shrapnel but as far as Kayli was concerned, he looked a lot better than when she'd first seen him.

"Guess you won't be alone after all." Alec said.

"Go find Gemma and tell her I'm fine. Promise?" Kayli asked, turning her attention back to Alec for a moment. He nodded with a smile and was suddenly hugging her tightly, catching her by surprise.

"Stay with Davis at all times," he murmured into her ear and she giggled in response. When they pulled apart, Alec gave a quick wave and then dashed off as fast as he could.

Davis glanced at Jensen before looking back at Kayli. Since the other boy didn't know she was a girl he was going to have to keep calling her Roy for now. "Roy, you can walk!"

"Yeah, I got out today." Kayli grinned happily.

"Just in time for the red alert," Davis shook his head with a chuckle. "Have you received instructions yet?"

"I'm heading to floor 49," Kayli said, setting off in the right direction as they spoke. "The Wutai soldier they had in custody has escaped and there may or may not have been outside help involved."

Davis, walking beside her, shot her a worried look which she ignored.

"We're to keep an eye out for the prisoner and find Sephiroth as well to see if he can help." Kayli finished.

"And you think he's just sitting around in his office while there's a red alert?" Jensen asked with a quiet scoff.

"Angeal didn't know where he was so this is the best guess we've got," Kayli shrugged as they approached the elevator and pressed the button. "Maybe we'll find the prisoner."

"Hopefully we won't," Davis muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

Kayli glanced across at him briefly, her nerves shining in her eyes, before she stepped forward into the elevator and pressed the button for floor 49.

* * *

With Hojo currently in another room due to the sudden red alert, Edvard found himself alone in the main laboratory room. As soon as the alarm had started and the red lights began flashing, Hojo had cursed and begun running around to ensure none of his experiments had escaped. He had also managed to order Edvard to stay where he was right before he left the room in his frenzy.

Now, the boy wasn't quite sure what to do. He didn't know what the emergency was about and since he wasn't allowed to leave he wouldn't be finding out any time soon. What could he do while he waited for Hojo to come back?

Inadvertently, his eyes wandered over to the filing cabinet that stood at the side of the room. There was something he had been wanting to check for a while and simply had no chance to do, but should he risk it now?

Ever since he had heard about Cloud being rejected from the SOLDIER program because of his inability to adapt to mako, he had wanted to see the data records to try and find out exactly what had gone wrong. Every time he asked, however, Hojo had made some excuse about him not being allowed to see the information of a friend.

Tingling with adrenaline, Edvard took quick steps towards the filing cabinet and hurriedly opened one of the drawers, flicking through the files in search for Cloud's.

It took him a while before the correct file was in his hands and he opened it up to begin reading. The words didn't make sense at first, but the more he read the more he understood. He remembered what Hojo had told him about mako and did his best to apply that knowledge to what he was discovering now.

His hands were shaking. Whether it was from nerves, rage or excitement he didn't know. He was so caught up in the information that he didn't even flinch when Hojo strode back into the room and clapped his hands together happily.

"Hey- what are you doing?" Hojo suddenly squeaked, noticing the file in the boys hands.

Edvard looked up angrily, deciding it was rage making his hands shake after all. "Cloud should be allowed to be a SOLDIER."

"You don't understand," Hojo sighed in annoyance. "Just because he passed all the other tests doesn't mean they can overlook his problem with mako."

"But there _is_ no problem! Not one that should keep him from becoming a SOLDIER, at least!" Edvard shot back.

"His body rejected it! That's a problem!" Hojo snapped.

"But his mind accelerated! If he had been allowed more time his body would have caught up and excelled as well!" Edvard said.

"Yes, yes," Hojo shook his head. "But after a few days he would have died. His body is not strong enough yet."

"Then he has another chance? He can train some more... then try again?" Edvard asked.

"Oh no, he'll never become a SOLDIER," Hojo said with a horrible laugh. "When his body is strong enough to cope with mako I want to be in full control of what happens to him. It's bad enough that I can't do all the experiments I want on Sephiroth since his _beloved _SOLDIER friends are protecting him from me. I'm not going to let such a wonderful specimen like Strife be taken away into the program."

Edvard watched in horror as Hojo went back to his equipment, adjusting things and preparing chemicals for his next experiment.

What had he gotten himself into when he agreed to be the man's apprentice?


	33. Chapter 32

Angeal wasn't hard to find. All Sephiroth had to do was head in the opposite direction to everyone he came across and eventually he found the other man sending off two last people to search a different part of ShinRa.

"The prisoner?" Sephiroth asked as he stopped beside his friend. Angeal looked over at him and then frowned, glancing past him as if looking for someone before fixing his eyes back on his face.

"Yeah, he's escaped." Angeal nodded and then paused before seeming to decide to voice his question. "Did Roy Peters see you on your way here?"

"No, why?" Sephiroth asked curiously.

"I sent him to search of you," Angeal said with a shrug. "He thought you'd have a better idea of what was going on."

"No I-" Sephiroth shifted his weight. "I just left the lab when the alarm went off."

"What for this time?" Angeal asked quickly, eyebrows narrowing. "You've been going there a lot more than usual. Genesis has noticed too – and he's been in Wutai most of the time!"

"It's nothing," Sephiroth said darkly. "Just mako dosages like normal."

"Whatever you say," Angeal sighed, clearly not believing him.

"Did Peters say where he was going to start looking?" Sephiroth asked to move the conversation back to the previous topic.

"I sent him up to floor 49," Angeal said. "Since I didn't know where you were I figured he could start there. He won't be in too much danger, either. I doubt Sergei would hang around on the SOLDIER floor."

Sephiroth didn't say anything for a moment as his friends words processed through his mind. Then his eyes widened. "In the case of an emergency the SOLDIER floor empties quickly as everyone rushes to be given instructions or carry them out. Sergei was a 2nd Class. He knows. That's probably where he is!"

He didn't wait for a response, instead turning and running as fast as he could down the corridor towards the nearest elevator. His hand had already found the hilt of his sword but was waiting since he knew the walls of the building would be lacerated should he pull it out while he ran.

He never should have given up the chase when they were in Wutai and had the opportunity to kill the rebellion group - why he had received orders to he still didn't know – and now that Sergei had escaped there was no doubt in Sephiroth's mind that his team had come to get him out.

That meant Kayli was in a lot more danger than she realised. And Angeal had no idea that she was even a girl as he'd sent her off! Sephiroth realised far too late that he should have been a lot more honest with his friend, but he couldn't do anything about it right now.

What he _could_ do was find Kayli and finally put an end to the troubles they'd been having with Sergei's rebellion group.

* * *

The 49th floor was silent besides the alarm as Kayli, Davis and Jensen stepped out of the elevator. For a moment Kayli wondered if they'd come to the right place, but she'd been there often enough to recognise the corridor and reassured herself with that knowledge. Gesturing at Davis and Jensen to follow, she set off quietly down the hall to where she knew Sephiroth's office was.

She felt a surge of relief when it finally came into view and her steps quickened involuntarily. Reaching out as she got closer, she was about to knock when she realised she could partially see into the room already. The door had been left open a crack.

Davis drew up beside her, a frown on his face, and then he carefully pushed the door open. The office was empty, looking exactly as Kayli had seen it before except that Sephiroth was missing. She couldn't help feel disappointed by the sight and wonder where the man had gone without anyone knowing.

"Come on, what were the chances he'd actually be here anyway?" Jensen sighed quietly, folding his arms. "He's probably searching for the prisoner just like we should be."

"Well, the prisoner's not in this room." Kayli said with a sigh. A thought began to form in her mind as Davis spoke.

"I don't think the prisoner's on this floor. Why hide amongst SOLDIERs? He would've been found already."

"That's just it," Kayli murmured, walking into the office and over to Sephiroth's desk. It was bare save for a few papers. "All the SOLDIERs have left because of the emergency."

Davis and Jensen exchanged a nervous glance before looking out at the corridor suspiciously as if the prisoner was about to jump out at them.

"Did you hear that?" Davis suddenly whispered. Kayli instantly looked up at him, eyes wide as she waited for him to speak again and her ears doing their best to pick up any sounds, no matter how faint. The continuous alarm made that incredibly hard.

"It's coming from Commander Rhapsodos' office." Jensen replied also in a soft voice. Kayli took only one step towards them and then Davis turned to her with a stern expression, making her stop.

"Stay here." he ordered.

Kayli opened her mouth to complain but Davis and Jensen exited the room quickly, shutting the office door so she couldn't follow them. She knew Davis didn't want her getting hurt, but he didn't have the right to keep her from helping! She groaned in annoyance before turning back to Sephiroth's desk, deciding that if she stuck in here she may as well have a look around.

The papers lying there looked like regular paperwork – forms to fill out after being on a mission – except for one towards the left side of the desk. Kayli moved over to it, her curiosity getting the best of her, and picked it up.

It was the profile of an ex-SOLDIER, stating '2nd Class' at the top and 'DESERTER' in red letters right underneath. The picture shown of the man was vaguely familiar and reminded her of the Wutai soldiers, but she knew it hadn't been someone in the group that had captured her since his face wasn't _that_ familiar. Then she read the name and her eyes widened.

'_Sergei Molotov_'.

Liam and his friends had spoken briefly of Sergei when they first caught her. He was the prisoner. Now he'd escaped and was somewhere in the building.

He was an ex-SOLDIER! They weren't just up against a Wutai soldier, this man had experience no other Wutaian had! She had to warn Davis and Jensen before something happened. If they found Sergei...

They wouldn't stand a chance.

Spinning around, she barely had time to take in what she was seeing before her instincts kicked in and she screamed, pushing out with her arms reflexively. No use – they were grabbed and held behind her back firmly so she couldn't run away.

"Found you," came the whisper in her ear.

She screamed again, feeling as though she was 9-years-old and trying to escape from the older brother who had just killed her twin. This situation was almost the same except this time Liam wasn't actively trying to kill her – yet – and Roy had been dead for years.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," Liam said softly, pulling her closer to his body so he could hold her still more effectively. "We'll go to Wutai together and free it from oppression. Brother and sister fighting for the freedom of an entire nation!"

"No!" Kayli yelled, struggling as hard as she could to try and make him let go. She wasn't crying but knew she probably would start to soon. "I'm never going to join you!"

"Yes you are," Liam said quietly. "Because you love me."

"Let her go."

Kayli's eyes snapped up and a sob escaped her throat as she saw Sephiroth standing in the doorway. She stopped struggling and tried to breathe slowly to keep her tears at bay. She didn't want to cry in front of him and also knew that there was nothing to cry about now since Liam stood no chance against the General.

"I knew you'd come," Liam chuckled. "Now I can ask you what I've been wondering ever since you took Kayli away from me. What's so important about her that ShinRa would send you out to rescue her? Or did you make the decision to go yourself?"

"You think I was going to let the 1st ever possible female SOLDIER slip through my fingers?" Sephiroth asked.

"Still, what does she matter to you? You have so many other better _male_ SOLDIERs." Liam pointed out.

"None with the commitment she has." Sephiroth countered.

"Well it doesn't matter anyway," Liam said, moving back slightly and taking Kayli with him. "You can't have her."

"Can't I?" Sephiroth asked as he raised one eyebrow. Only then did Kayli notice that he had his sword out and swallowed nervously. He hadn't raised it yet and she guessed it was because he didn't want to risk harming her.

Not that there was a possibility of that, though. He was the _General_. If anyone could control how their weapon moved, it was him.

"No," Liam smirked. "Because you won't try anything while I'm holding her."

"Then since you're still holding her, humour me for a moment," Sephiroth said. "Who is Roy?"

There was a pause and Kayli wondered what Sephiroth was playing at. Then Liam responded, "He was my brother."

"What happened to him?"

"I killed him."

Kayli shuddered and Liam's grip tightened slightly on her as if he was afraid she would try to use the distraction to break free.

"Deliberately?" Sephiroth enquired innocently.

"Yes. It was fun."

"How long ago?"

"I don't remember. But I can still see it in my mind as if it was yesterday... he screamed so much. Wouldn't stop begging for-"

"I don't wanna know._ I don't wanna know!_" Kayli screamed, thrashing once again as she tried to get away. Liam's grip had slackened in the time it had taken for him to begin recalling the murder of his brother and Kayli found one of her arms suddenly freed, instantly extending it as far as she could to try and grab hold of Sephiroth.

He was too far away for her to reach on her own, but he also reached forward and she was then able to grab his hand, holding as tightly as she could as she felt him pull her towards him.

"Stop it! You can't have her!" Liam cried out, his fingers bunching in Kayli's cadet uniform as he tried to keep her.

Kayli could feel her hand slipping from Sephiroth's and fought to free her other arm. It was firmly wedged between her side and Liam's own arm though and she couldn't move it more than an inch.

"She's my sister! You can't take her from me again!"

"Then I'll make this quick."

Kayli had no time to pause and wonder who had just spoken as she was suddenly released and found herself stumbling into Sephiroth. Her whole body was trembling and she grabbed his arms tightly to make herself feel more secure. She took a moment to get her breath back and then glanced over her shoulder.

Genesis stood above Liam's unconscious form, raising his rapier to deal the final blow.

Kayli turned back to Sephiroth and buried her face in his chest, sobs shaking through her body as she clung to the older man. He held her awkwardly for a moment before the anxious cries of her friends came from behind him.

Slowly turning, he allowed Davis to take Kayli from him and hug her comfortingly, drawing her away from the office slightly.

Sephiroth looked over in time to see Genesis wiping his sword and stepped further into the office, allowing the door to shut behind him.

"When did you get back?" he asked.

"This morning," Genesis replied, sheathing his weapon. "And it's a good thing too."

"What were you doing in my storage room?" Sephiroth asked as he folded his arms and glanced over at the still open door at the back corner of his office. It had taken a lot of self-control not to react when he'd seen his friend slowly step out of it moments ago.

Genesis smirked and reached to his back pocket, pulling out a copy of LOVELESS which he proudly displayed.

"Did you think I'd forgotten you took this off me before I left for Wutai?" he asked.

"One can only hope," Sephiroth sighed. "Besides, you've got about ten copies."

"You can never have too many copies of LOVELESS."

Scoffing, Sephiroth chose not to answer that and instead turned back to the door, opening it so he was able to keep an eye on the grunts. Davis was still hugging Kayli, who turned as the door opened and set her eyes on something beyond Sephiroth. It took him a moment to realise she was staring at the body of her dead brother.

Quickly stepping forward, Sephiroth demanded the grunts' attention by standing up straight and glaring down at them. He was pleased when Kayli looked up at him also as that had been his intention.

"Why was Peters left by himself in my office?" Sephiroth snapped angrily, referring to Kayli as a male again since he didn't think the other boy, Bailey, knew of her gender.

"It's my fault Sir," Davis said, his voice trembling. "I told him to stay there because I could hear voices coming from Commander Rhapsodos' office and thought the prisoner was hiding there. I didn't want him to get hurt and... well you know how that went."

"What did you say about Genesis' office?" Sephiroth asked, eyes narrowing.

"I... heard people talking," Davis said cautiously. "But when Jensen and I checked it out there was no one there."

Beckoning with his hand for Genesis to follow, Sephiroth put a hand on his sword and approached his friends office slowly, eyebrows drawn together. The door had been left open as Davis and Jensen came back to find Kayli with a Wutai soldier and Sephiroth gently pushed it open, eyes taking in everything he could see.

"Oh, very clever."

"This is why we don't send grunts on important missions," Genesis sighed from behind Sephiroth, pulling out his rapier.

Five Wutai soldiers dropped down from where they had been clinging to the ceiling and took fighting stances, weapons clenched tightly in their hands. Sergei was one of them, positioned in front of the others since he was obviously their leader.

Sephiroth eyed the foreign soldiers carefully, taking notice that Sergei was favouring his right arm and that it was soaked in blood. Two other soldiers – twins, by the looks of it – also had blood covering their arms.

"I guess now we know how he faked the blood trail," Genesis said with a hint of admiration in his voice. Sephiroth frowned at his friends comment, having not heard about the blood trail, before lunging and sweeping masamune out of its sheath in a quick slash.

The Wutaian men fought valiantly, manoeuvring skilfully out of the way of many blows from both Sephiroth and Genesis, but within the first minute one had fallen from a stab wound to the heart.

"ShinRa will not control Wutai forever!" Sergei yelled as he ducked Sephiroth's sword, cringing as masamune connected with the flesh of one his men instead of his own.

"Perhaps not," Sephiroth said, pulling his sword out of one of the twins' side and ignoring the screams of pain. "But you won't be the one to free it."

Sergei parried another blow from Sephiroth, doing his best to fight with the sword given to him by Orn and trying not to injure his arm any more than it already had been. His men were falling all around him – already Yakov, Orn and one of the twins were down and unmoving.

"For Wutai!" the last standing twin cried as he lunged at Genesis. Sergei stumbled against the wall, cornered by Sephiroth and distracted by the strangled gulping that told of his man's last moments.

Silence.

"Go on," Sergei taunted as Sephiroth stood before him, masamune raised but not striking. "Finish me off."

"No," Sephiroth said quietly, his body relaxing as he stepped back and lowered his sword. "I refuse."

"Then Wutai still has a chance to be freed by me," Sergei said smugly, fighting the urge to start coughing. He didn't want to show weakness now that there was a chance he could make it out alive.

"Wutai will never see you on its soil ever again."

"Seph?"

The General turned away from Sergei and walked over to the window at the back of the office, not responding to the quiet enquiry from his friend. Genesis waited only a moment before making his decision.

Sephiroth flinched, his grip on the windowsill tightening.

* * *

The inside of the cockpit was silent, save for the restless drumming of fingers on the primary joystick. A sigh escaped the mouth of the boy who sat in the pilot's seat, his eyes roaming over the terrain he could see through the windscreen.

He was wearing an old watch that he had fixed up so it worked perfectly and now he glanced down at it for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. It was three hours past the time he had been told to expect them back.

"Viki," Orn had said right before he and the other men left. "Nothing's going to go wrong, but if you're worried you can contact me on this. I promise I'll answer." He had shoved a phone in the boy's hand and smiled warmly, patting his shoulder and then leaving.

Viktor had held off calling for fear of interrupting and perhaps even blowing Orn's cover, although the desire to dial the number was continuously growing within him. He glanced over at where it lay on the other seat, his fingers speeding up as they still drummed on the joystick.

Five more minutes. If he still couldn't see them in five minutes then he'd call and find out what was going on.

It took all of his self-control to stay still in his seat as he watched the second-hand on his watch tick slowly past the numbers. Five minutes had never been so long and as soon as they were up he was scrambling for the phone and pressing the correct numbers, holding the phone to his ear.

Right before it had time to connect, he panicked and hung up. What if Orn was on his way out of the building and the phone call alerted some ShinRa soldiers to his presence? Could he risk it?

But it had been three hours...

Taking a deep breath, Viktor dialled the number a second time. Closing his eyes, he held it to his ear and waited. The call connected and began to ring, each one making the boy's heart pound a bit faster than before.

Voice mail. The automated recording telling him to leave a message broke his heart and his hands shook violently as his body curled inwards and he rested his head on his knees, his trousers soaking up the tears that started to fall as he sobbed.

What had gone wrong? Why wasn't Orn answering?

The beep signalled it was his turn to speak and he shakily wiped his sleeve across his nose, gripping the phone even tighter than before. Maybe... maybe Orn would get the message and call him back?

It was worth a try.

"Dad, w-where are you?"


	34. Chapter 33

A/N: Hey guys, this chapter is a bit of a filler chapter so nothing particularly interesting happens in it, however it's still important to read because some things are explained. Just thought I'd let you know.

Also, this story is coming to an end. I don't know how many more chapters there will be but there will be a bare minimum of 3 more - so there could be more than 3. I thought I should tell you so that you don't just get to the end of the story and go WHAT?

That's all for this lot of author notes! I hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

In the aftermath of the red alert, ShinRa seemed a lot quieter than normal. With nothing going on, everyone seemed to be wandering around aimlessly in an attempt to find something interesting to do and not have to go back to their normal workload.

Jinx didn't move when Jensen entered the room, keeping his head down as he read a book he had borrowed from the ShinRa libraries. Jensen's footsteps came to an abrupt halt as he looked at the sight before him and he couldn't stop his mouth from falling open. He had _never_ expected-

"Quit gawking and either do what you came for or leave." Jinx snapped, still keeping his eyes on the book.

Jensen wasn't quite sure what to say in response to that. He had been coming to see if his friend wanted company but since it was obvious he didn't, maybe he should just leave. He could already tell what had gotten Jinx in a bad mood, though he wasn't sure how it had happened.

Eyebrows drawn together in confusion, Jensen turned to leave.

"Alright fine! You can stay. Besides, I'd rather you laugh in here than outside where everyone else can hear you. You'd end up telling them all about... this." Jinx growled.

"Um," Jensen slowly turned back to his friend. "I wasn't going to laugh."

"Sure you weren't." Jinx scoffed.

"I'm actually not in a laughing mood, Jinx," Jensen said, bristling with slight anger. "Didn't you hear the alarm? The prisoner escaped."

"Yeah but it's over now, right? They must've gotten him locked away again." Jinx shrugged. Jensen could tell now that the book was simply a prop and he wasn't reading at all.

"I was there. The prisoner had outside help and... and now they're all dead."

Jinx finally looked up, eyes wide.

"Only the Wutaians?" he asked cautiously.

"Yeah," Jensen nodded. "And I saw the guy you thought Roy was related to. I think you're right about that. He tried to kidnap Roy again."

"Are you serious?" Jinx stood up, throwing the book down on his bed in a rage. "I can't believe you were out there having all the fun and I was stuck in- let's not talk about that." As abruptly as he had stood, Jinx sat again.

Jensen's lips twitched as he fought back a smile.

"I can tell you want to," Jinx groaned. "Fine, ask."

"What the heck happened to your Mohawk?" Jensen burst out as soon as he had permission. Jinx wailed and fell onto his back sadly. "I mean not that it looks bad or anything... you just look really different."

"Do you want the truth?" Jinx whimpered.

"Yeah."

"Fine. I stole Reno's phone and when he found me he dragged me to the Turk floor, held me still and ordered for his partner to 'begin'. I thought maybe they'd just torture me a bit," Jinx sighed. "But then the stupid bald guy shaved it off!"

"Ah, so it wasn't your decision?" Jensen questioned.

"No! Of course not!" Jinx sat up again. "Do you honestly think I would shave off my beautiful Mohawk after so many years of perfecting it? I'm going to have to start all over again! I can't believe _Reno_ did this to me!"

"That must suck," Jensen stifled a laugh. "Having your idol ruin the one thing you've worked hardest for."

"It does suck!" Jinx agreed firmly, pouting and folding his arms. "I feel like I'm naked now!"

Jensen sighed and sat down on his own bed, shaking his head in amusement. "You act like it's the worst thing that's ever happened to you."

"It is!" Jinx retorted. "Show some sympathy, would you?"

"To be honest," Jensen said quietly. "It kind of pales in comparison to seeing six dead bodies twenty minutes ago."

Jinx didn't reply.

"On a happier note," Jensen looked up at Jinx again. "I think I know Roy's secret."

"You do?" Jinx gasped, instantly distracted.

"Well I'm not _positive_," Jensen scratched the back of his head nervously. "But I think he's gay."

"What makes you say that?" Jinx asked.

"He and Davis were acting _really_ close." Jensen said simply.

"Ah," Jinx nodded. "That makes sense."

"It does? Really?" Jensen asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well yeah! Now I know why Davis was always defending Roy whenever I asked about his secret." Jinx beamed.

"Still, I'm not positive." Jensen shrugged.

"Who cares? There's enough evidence to suggest something's going on so, whether it's true or not, I'm still gonna tease them!" Jinx cackled evilly and Jensen rolled his eye.

"Some day someone's going to hold a razor to your throat instead of your hair, Jinx."

* * *

Kayli had barely stepped through the door when Gemma raced over and enveloped her in a hug, squeezing her as tightly as she could.

"You're okay! Thank goodness you're okay."

"Only-" Kayli sniffed, keeping her eyes closed as she hugged Gemma back so that neither of their parents would be able to see her tears – she hoped. "Only on the outside."

"What happened?" Gemma asked, pulling back to look at her friends face. "We heard the alarm but don't know anything except that a prisoner escaped. That's all Alec would say."

Kayli glanced past Gemma to see Alec standing beside his parents with his hands shoved in his pockets and a frown on his face. He was watching her and she quickly looked away again.

"Liam's dead," Kayli muttered.

"What?" Gemma gasped. "You mean he was here?"

Kayli nodded but wouldn't say any more yet, instead walking over to where her parents were visibly dying to hold her as well. As soon as she got close enough they pulled her in for more hugs and her mother cried, succeeding in bringing more fresh tears from Kayli's own eyes.

"What happened?" her father asked.

"I don't want to have to repeat myself a million times," Kayli said, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "So Alec, you're gonna have to come closer than that."

Alec grinned slightly and moved over, the amusement not reaching his eyes as concern shone through instead. Kayli was silent for a moment as she thought about how lucky Gemma was to have a brother like Alec.

Shaking her head lightly to clear her thoughts and focus on what she was going to say, she opened her mouth and began to explain everything that happened from when the red alert had first sounded.

When she reached the part about Liam, she was sobbing again. Yes, she knew she was supposed to be strong since she wanted to become a SOLDIER in Roy's place... but she was still only fourteen! No fourteen-year-old should have been subjected to all the things she'd been through, she thought to herself, justifying her tears in her mind.

Reaching the end of her story, Kayli collapsed against her mother and cried freely. After everything that had happened – finding out Liam was alive and in Wutai, being sent to Wutai, being captured by Liam, almost killing him, being rescued, encountering him again at ShinRa and then seeing his dead body – Kayli finally allowed her emotions to come out.

"I'm so sorry," Kayli's father murmured to her. As she looked up at him she was surprised to see that his own cheeks were wet as well. "I knew that Liam had a mental problem and I should have tried to track him down when he left. But I thought... I just wanted him out of our lives. I should have found him and taken him somewhere to get help. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Kayli said, pulling out of her mothers arms to reach for her father, hugging him tightly. "You didn't know what was going to happen."

"I should have fought harder to protect you," he continued sadly, his voice cracking slightly. "I never should have allowed you to leave for months on end without telling us where you were."

Kayli remained silent, reflecting on all those times she had run away from home because of her pent-up depression. Without Roy around it was as if a part of her soul had been torn off and she had nothing to live for. Her parents' love and Gemma's friendship had been the only things that kept her returning home.

Returning to a room with two beds but only one that was slept in.

Returning to a table with four seats but only three that were used.

Returning to a house that used to be full of laughter and had become a place of tears.

"I can't come back with you," Kayli murmured, her voice strong even though she was still crying. Her father pushed her back to look at her face, worry on his own.

"Hasn't today taught you a lesson? It's dangerous here!" he said fiercely. Kayli now understood that his desire for her to return was not to spoil any of her plans or to disrespect the memory of Roy, but rather to keep her safe since she was his last living child.

"I know it's dangerous, but I got through it," Kayli said, stepping away from him and meeting his gaze. "I have to become a SOLDIER. Otherwise none of it was worth it."

"Why does it mean so much to you?" her mother asked, confused as to why her daughter was so determined to do something she had never once shown interest in when at home.

"Because Roy wanted to become a SOLDIER," Kayli explained softly. "But he never had the chance."

Her parents were silent for a moment as they contemplated her words.

"Don't forget to keep in contact, even if you can only call me at midnight," Gemma said with a smile. "I'd rather be woken up than not hear from you at all."

"Gemma!" Gemma's parents were staring at her wide-eyed, shocked and horrified that their daughter was already encouraging Kayli to go for her twin brothers dream.

"What? This is Kayli, remember? There's no way she's gonna be convinced to give up!" Gemma laughed.

"I can look after her," Alec said gently. "If you want."

Kayli fixed her eyes on the floor, hoping desperately that her parents wouldn't continue to argue and would simply allow her to stay. She would prefer to have their permission than stay at ShinRa disobediently.

It just seemed like such a waste of time to return home again now after everything that had happened and she had gotten so close! Why leave when there was nothing to fear anymore?

"Alright," her father said softly. "But you have to call us once a week to let us know what's happening. If you're sent on a mission that might take longer than a week let us know beforehand so we don't worry about you. Is that understood?"

Kayli fought the urge to say, 'Sir, yes Sir!' and said "Of course!" instead, hugging him and grinning.

"If you let _anything_ bad happen to her-" Kayli heard her father begin to say sternly to Alec and quickly pushed away with a laugh, wiping stray tears from her eyes.

"Dad, he hasn't been here as long as I have. If anything, _I'll_ be the one helping him out of sticky situations," she said.

Her father rolled his eyes but managed to grin a bit too, putting an arm around her shoulders to give her a side hug.

"What's next on the agenda today, then?" he asked curiously.

"Well since the red alert's over," Kayli said and glanced down at her watch. "We should have another reconnaissance and intelligence gathering lesson this afternoon." Alec nodded in agreement and Kayli then smiled up at her parents.

"That sounds really smart," her mother laughed. "I can't believe you're learning so much that I don't know anything about."

"It may sound smart," Kayli said seriously. "But I still have absolutely no idea what Kunsel is trying to teach us."

"You don't?" Alec asked, shocked. "I thought it was obvious! Maybe it's because I'm in a different class to you..."

"What's the point of it, then?" Kayli asked.

"He's training us to be able to see who's in charge of a team just by looking at them. He keeps showing my class photos of different soldiers stationed somewhere and asks us who's the leader of them."

"That's stupid. How are you supposed to know from a photo?" Kayli complained.

Alec grinned, proud that there was something he was better than Kayli at after all despite him being there for less time. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually."

Refusing to allow his comment to get to her, Kayli decided it was time to change the subject and glanced around the room casually.

"Where's Cloud?" she asked, remembering that he had been the one to take her parents somewhere to hide in the first place and noticing that he was now nowhere to be seen.

"The blond boy?" her mother questioned.

"That's the one," Kayli confirmed.

"He went to see what he could do to help once Alec turned up. I'm not sure exactly where he went, though," her mother shrugged. "By the sounds of how things work around here, I'm assuming he joined some others in searching a different floor of the building for the prisoner."

"He's probably back at our room now, then," Kayli said with a nod.

"What?" her mother asked. Kayli frowned at the cold tone of voice and wondered what she had said wrong. Going over her last sentence, she couldn't figure it out.

"What what?" she asked in reply.

"You share a room with that boy?" her mother asked, her voice still icy cold and quiet.

"Erm-"

"That's it, you're coming back with us right now," her father snapped. "You're only fourteen for goodness sake!"

"Kayli?"

Thankful for a distraction, Kayli spun around to face Davis who had only just entered the room. He still had a hand on the door and was looking at the scene before him curiously.

"Mum, Dad," Kayli said. "I'd like you to meet my boyfriend Davis Taison."

Davis' face paled and he straightened up, gulping.

"This is your boyfriend but you're sharing a room with the blond?" her father roared angrily.

"What? Dad! The room has like, six beds in it! Davis, Cloud, Alec, Rex and I all share the room! It's not just me and Cloud." Kayli snorted at that thought and shook her head with a grin.

"You're sharing a room... with _four_ boys?"

"Oops."

"Excuse me Sir," Alec piped up, addressing Kayli's father. "If you don't mind me saying, none of those guys would ever try anything because they still partially see her as male. Sure, they've all found out she's a girl, but she still dresses like a guy each day and keeps the pretence up so it's a bit of a turn-off."

Neither of her parents seemed to be very convinced by that but they let the subject drop for the time being, for which Kayli was incredibly thankful. She made a mental note to thank Alec later for his in-put.

As her parents asked other simpler questions – "What's the food like here?" and "Are your instructors nice?" – Davis sidled up beside her slowly, trying to be inconspicuous. Her parents didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as they kept on asking questions and Kayli continued answering, beginning to feel tired.

"Hey um," Davis spoke as there was a momentary lull in the conversation. "I think I'm gonna go check on Rex, alright?"

"Sure, go ahead." Kayli nodded. Rex, unlike her, had not been let out of the infirmary yet and was still in intensive care. Just yesterday Davis had told her he'd seen a counsellor leaving the boy's room and they'd been very interested to find out what was going on.

"Want me to tell him anything from you?" Davis asked as he began moving towards the door.

Kayli thought about it for a second before giggling and running over to Davis, whispering something in his ear. Davis laughed, glanced at Gemma, and then left the room.

Walking back over to her parents, Kayli smiled innocently.

"What was that all about?" her mother questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll tell you one day," Kayli said cheekily, glancing at Gemma – who was watching her with a very worried expression on her face – before giggling again. "Not today though."

"Can you tell _me_ at least?" Gemma asked with a whine in her voice.

"Not today!" Kayli repeated, laughing.

The two friends continued to bicker for a few minutes with Alec adding in his thoughts every now and then, before the parents of both girls decided it was time to leave and find something else to do. Gemma's parents told her she could stay and talk to Kayli for a bit longer if she wanted but was to come find them as soon as Kayli had to go to her lesson.

When the parents were gone Kayli and Gemma grinned at each other before running off through ShinRa, laughing and doing their best to lose Alec along the way.

It was fun not having to worry about anything anymore.


	35. Chapter 34

A/N: Another chapter! The end draws ever closer, doesn't it? Well, I'd just like to say that I'm still aiming for 40 total chapters. Although as it is happening, it will probably be 39 chapters plus an epilogue. So I hope you enjoy this chapter a lot and leave a review! The more reviews the better since the end is near, right? Haha XD

* * *

"Are you listening to me, Rex?"

The boy being spoken to sighed and turned back to the counsellor who sat on a chair beside the bed.

"Yeah."

The counsellor frowned but accepted the answer, folding his arms. He had been with Rex for only ten minutes so far today and already the boy looked frustrated by his presence. It was going to be a difficult process.

So far, the counsellor had established a few things about Rex. Firstly, he could be incredibly stubborn when he wanted to. Secondly, the loss of his arm affected him more than he let on considering the darkness that came over his eyes whenever it was mentioned. Thirdly, the counsellor was positive that Rex was determined to fight him every step of the way.

"When was the last time one of your friends came to visit you?" the counsellor asked lightly, trying to sound helpful and not at all demanding.

"Uh," Rex's eyebrows furrowed. "About an hour ago?"

"Yes? Who was it?" The man enquired, lifting his eyebrows to show he was genuinely interested.

"Davis." Rex said, his gaze dropping to his lap. His right hand was curled into a fist and gently resting on his legs.

"Did you talk about anything in particular? The mission? Girls? What's been happening in classes that you've missed?" The question was simple enough and it seemed to be the right thing to ask as Rex's eyes lightened somewhat and his eyes rose to the counsellor's again. There was an almost-smile on his face.

"There's a girl I like," he admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and she's finally come to visit again." Rex nodded before sighing in defeat and looking down at his hand again. "But how am I supposed to flirt with only one arm?"

The counsellor raised his eyebrows, "I didn't realise flirting involved your arms."

Rex scowled over at him, annoyed at the sarcastic statement which was probably meant to make him laugh. He didn't think it was funny, though. Not at all.

"I'm sorry, Rex," the counsellor said gently. "Would you like to talk about something else?"

"Yeah," Rex's eyes focused on the man's face and he nodded firmly. Obviously there was something on his mind and the counsellor leant forward slightly. "Can I still be a Turk?"

Leaning back again, the man sighed. "I told you before, we have to assess your situation before making any decisions about that."

"But you already know my situation!" Rex protested angrily. "It's kind of obvious, isn't it? Or hadn't you noticed the lack of a left arm?"

"Rex, calm down-"

"I don't want to calm down! I want you to tell me if I can be a Turk or not so that I know whether there's any point actually staying here!" Rex spat.

"No matter the answer to that you won't be leaving until your doctors say you've fully recovered!" the counsellor said. Rex flopped back against his pillow and turned to face the wall, blocking the counsellor out and refusing to respond any more.

"Rex, you have to understand I'm only trying to help you. All of ShinRa only wants what's best for you but in order for that to happen you need to cooperate with me! I'll be back again tomorrow, alright?" Receiving no answer, the counsellor stood and left the room, almost running into someone on the way out.

"Whoa, sorry Sir!" Zack said, stepping back and allowing the counsellor to go first. Once he was gone, Zack bounded into Rex's room and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

"What do you want?" Rex mumbled in annoyance, not turning to look at him.

"I brought you something!" Zack announced. "Surprise!"

Rex flinched as he felt something placed on his bed and turned his head slowly to see what it was. A dog sat there, wagging its tail and panting excitedly.

"You got me a dog?" he asked, shocked.

"Well..." Zack scratched the back of his head. "It was a puppy, but it grew up. And Angeal already wanted me to get rid of it when it was smaller so when he saw how big it is now he practically went into a rage. Um, but anyway! He told me to give it to someone else and I thought you could use some cheering up!"

"We're not allowed pets at ShinRa," Rex said quietly, although he was slowly reaching over with his right hand to stroke the dog and a small smile was on his lips.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out," Zack grinned. "Is there anyone who could mind him for you while you're here? Family? Friends?"

"I don't know if they'd like to have to look after a dog... Wait! Maybe there is someone!" Rex exclaimed, sitting up and looking over at Zack. He was grinning widely now and Zack returned it.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! And she's visiting right now so I can ask her straight out!" Rex exclaimed. "If she _really_ likes dogs... I might just give him to her! You wouldn't mind would you?"

"We're talking about a _girl_?" Zack asked, gasping. "Of course I don't mind! Go forth young man, and woo your lady!"

Rex chuckled and went a bit red, patting the dog again.

"Does he have a name?"

"Angeal told me that if I named him I'd grow too attached, so there's nothing official. But he answers to 'Pup'." Zack explained.

"Pup," Rex said thoughtfully and the dog's ears pricked up, making his tail wag faster than before. Rex laughed.

"That's all I came for. Do you want me to mind him for now or are you good to keep him occupied in your room?" Zack asked.

"It should be okay," Rex shrugged. "I'm just not gonna be able to restrain him very well if he decides he wants to run off. I don't know when I'm gonna see Gemma, either, so it could be a while before she gets him."

"That's fine with me," Zack said. "How 'bout I come back in half an hour to see how you're doing and if you want me to take him then?"

"Sounds good." Rex nodded.

"Awesome. See you then!" Zack waved, stood up and left.

But only a few seconds later he returned with a big grin on his face, making Rex raise his eyebrows curiously.

"There's someone here to see you," Zack said in a singsong voice before stepping aside to reveal Kayli and Gemma. "Enjoy your stay ladies- I mean lady and boy. Ahem. I'm going now. Yep. I am."

Zack vanished quickly and Rex blinked in shock.

"Hey," Kayli said with a grin. "How are you?"

"Um, alright." Rex said nervously, still patting the dog as he glanced from Kayli to Gemma.

"Aw, he's so cute!" Gemma said suddenly, moving over to pat the dog as well and smiling happily. "What's his name?"

"Pup," Rex said, smiling as well and not feeling as nervous anymore as he prepared to take the plunge. "Zack gave him to me but since we're not allowed pets at ShinRa I was wondering if you wanted to take him."

Gemma paused and her mouth fell open in shock as she stared over at him in surprise. Kayli turned away to hide her amusement and Rex just looked back at Gemma calmly, the question in his eyes appearing innocent enough.

"Well, sure!" Gemma said finally. "I love dogs!"

"Great!" Rex said happily. "I was hoping you would."

Gemma smiled and glanced over at Kayli before looking back at Rex. She was feeling a bit nervous since she found Rex very attractive but she didn't know what to do about it. At least Rex seemed pretty confident in himself.

"I heard Davis came to visit you earlier," Kayli said with a grin. "Did you get my message?"

Rex blushed and nodded, "Yeah, I did."

"Can you tell me yet?" Gemma whined.

"No!" Kayli and Rex both said, although Rex's was much louder and stronger. Coughing awkwardly, Rex looked away and tried to pretend nothing had happened.

"Don't worry about it," Kayli said with a secretive smile. "It's a ShinRa thing."

Rolling her eyes, Gemma agreed to let it slide for the moment and folded her arms.

"So how come you're still here when Kayli's been released now?" Gemma asked curiously then, addressing Rex. "I thought they would have used materia as soon as possible."

"Materia's a last resort," Rex said. "So they did as much as they could to help my body heal normally before giving me materia to finish it properly. And uh, a gunshot to the leg in Kayli's case takes less time to heal than a..."

"In any case," Kayli said casually as she noticed how Rex was still unable to say aloud to his friends what had happened to him. "He should be up again soon, good as new!"

"I'm glad," Gemma said sincerely. "It must suck being bed-ridden for so long."

"Yeah," Rex agreed fervently. "Especially when they all go back to class and there's no one to visit me for hours at a time. It... gets pretty lonely."

"Oh my gosh!" Kayli suddenly exclaimed, slapping a hand across her mouth and her eyes widening instantly.

"What's wrong?" Gemma asked, turning to her with a frown.

"I have to get to class! If I run now I'll make it." Kayli moved over to Rex and looked down at him sadly. "I'm so sorry, I'll come back and see you again as soon as I can, okay? I promise."

"Don't worry about it," Rex said with a smile. "I was exaggerating anyway when I said that."

"Well... if you're sure." Kayli turned to Gemma and hugged her friend. "I'll see you again soon, okay?"

"Of course! I think I'll stay and talk to Rex a bit more before I meet up with my parents though," Gemma said with an innocent shrug, looking over at him and smiling. "Might talk about how I'm meant to be looking after Pup."

"Well, have fun kiddos!" Kayli grinned, waving at them one last time and then dashing out the door faster than she'd ever run before – or so she liked to think. However, as she had been leaving she was sure she'd seen Gemma and Rex smile shyly at each other before Gemma moved closer to him. How exciting!

When she pulled up to the classroom, Kunsel was just letting the others inside and glanced over at her questioningly before walking inside to get things ready. Davis moved over to her with a grin.

"You look like you just ran a marathon," he teased.

"You would too if you'd forgotten about class and only realised it five minutes before starting time!" Kayli whispered with a laugh as they walked in and took their seats. Cloud was on the other side of Kayli and she smiled at him, although the smile that he returned didn't seem very heartfelt. She wondered sadly if he'd found out he could never be a SOLDIER.

"Alright," Kunsel said as he addressed the class, hooking up the overhead projector and flicking it on to show a picture of some soldiers crouched behind a fort, holding their guns. "Quick test of everything I've been teaching you! Focus on this image. Who can tell me who's in charge?"

Propping her head up in the palm of her hand, Kayli hoped he wouldn't ask her to answer the question. As it was, she didn't think any of them were in charge. They all looked like they were the same rank!

"The guy on the left?" a boy from the back of the room called out hesitantly. Kunsel pointed to make sure they were both talking about the same person and when the boy nodded in confirmation Kunsel shook his head.

"Nope."

Kayli sighed and changed hands.

"Roy? Got any idea?"

Grumbling in her head, she straightened slightly and cleared her throat awkwardly. "Um, well to be honest I don't think any of them are in charge."

Kunsel was silent for a moment as he stared at her and she felt the urge to sink low in her seat. Finally, he grinned.

"You're right! None of them are in charge." The class grumbled loudly and Davis whacked Kayli on the back, obviously impressed.

"That's stupid! Why show us a picture with no one in charge?" Kayli said, agreeing with the majority of the class that it was unfair.

"I wanted to see if anyone would be able to pick up on it!" Kunsel said.

"That's still stupid." Kayli mumbled.

"Alright," Kunsel said with a grin. "I'll show you one that _definitely_ has someone in charge and you can tell me who you think it is."

Shifting awkwardly, Kayli asked, "Me? Like, just me?"

"Yes, you!" Kunsel chuckled and went about changing the image while Davis covered his mouth to keep his laughs in and cringed when Kayli hit him in a 'not-funny' gesture.

When the new image was up, Kayli snorted. The man in charge was so obvious she just _knew_ Kunsel was trying to be funny. Although, as she looked at it closer, she noticed something. There was a man standing further in the background who looked like he had an air of superiority about him.

"What do you think?" Kunsel asked, suddenly leaning on Kayli's desk right in front of her and smirking.

Squaring her shoulders and deciding Kunsel really was trying to catch her out, she stared back at him defiantly and said, "The man at the back."

Kunsel's eyebrows raised and he stepped back, glancing at the image before looking back at her again. "Really? You think it's the guy at the back?"

A few other students snickered, apparently thinking she had to be dumb for not noticing the 'obvious' choice. Kayli narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, despite the fact that she could feel Davis' eyes on her.

"Yes, I do."

Kunsel promptly grinned and clapped his hands together.

"Correct!"

As quickly as that happened, Kunsel moved towards the back and fixed his gaze on another kid, staring intimidatingly for a while before demanding to know who was the second-in-command in the picture.

And the lesson progressed in a similar way. Kunsel managed to single out each and every one of them before the time was up and they practically ran for the door. Davis and Kayli left with Cloud, making their way back to their room in a slightly calmer fashion than the others.

"Cloud, you okay?" Kayli asked gently as they walked. He was drooping a bit today but as soon as she asked he straightened up again.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he nodded. "Just a bit annoyed I guess."

"Annoyed?" Davis asked.

"Apparently... apparently since I can't cope with mako I'm not allowed to be a SOLDIER." he said in a bit of a rush, clenching his hands into fists.

"Cloud, that sucks!" Kayli announced emphatically.

"That's so stupid," Davis said. "They should test us all way before we even become Infantrymen if that's the case."

"It's not that bad," Cloud admitted with a small shrug. "I spoke to Professor Hojo about it a few days ago and he said if I go for another check-up he might be able to figure out why my body was rejecting it and work out a way to eliminate the problem."

They reached their room then and walked in to find Alec reading a textbook. Kayli turned to Cloud with a frown.

"You mean you're gonna be tested on?" she asked.

"I dunno," Cloud shrugged. "If I have to I will. I- I have to become a SOLDIER."

Kayli shrugged it off and nodded to him, smiling to try and seem reassuring before moving over to her bed and sitting down. Lazard had made it sound like Cloud would _never_ get a chance to be a SOLDIER, not that there was a slim chance something could be done about it. It was odd.

"Did you see Rex?" Davis asked, sitting beside her.

"Yeah, I did! He gave Gemma a dog!" she informed him. Davis' eyebrows shot up in surprise and she giggled at his response.

"What?" Alec asked, moving over.

"Zack gave him a dog and then when we arrived he offered it to Gemma," Kayli explained. "I left them alone together since I had to get to class."

"You left my sister alone with Rex?" Alec asked slowly.

Kayli grinned and inched away from him, bumping into Davis. "Maybe? Come on, you know Rex! He's a great guy! I figured he could do with some cheering up."

Alec hesitated and then sighed, giving in. "Fine, I guess you're right."

They continued talking for a while and Davis told Alec how Kayli had gone in their last class, resulting in Alec teasing her since she had complained about how stupid it was to him earlier.

"I don't know," Kayli said in defence with a small shrug. "It just seemed pretty obvious this time."

"They've got a look about them, don't they?" Alec asked and Kayli agreed with a nod.

"You two are so weird," Davis laughed. "I still don't get it at all."

As Kayli reached into her bag and pulled out her book about guns – she needed to read up about them some more since she still couldn't identify each part – she tried to figure out how she had known which of the men was in charge of the rest, especially when she had dismissed her first choice.

Flicking the book open, she suddenly found herself thinking back on the way Liam had acted around his men when she'd been held captive by them. For some strange reason he was reminding her of the obvious choice in the image. Had there been someone else who was making decision from in the background?

A sudden crash sounded from outside and she jumped, looking up as everyone else in the room also looked, all staring at the door. What was happening outside?

"Sounded like someone getting overly excited," Davis chuckled.

"I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Kayli agreed, about to go back to her book when the door was flung open and Jinx stood there. He was grinning and about to say something when he noticed the looks he was getting and took a step back.

"_Gaia!_" Davis shouted. "What happened to your _hair_?"

Instantly covering his head with his arms, Jinx whimpered.

"It's none of your business!" he snapped sadly. "Can I just tell you what I came here for, please?"

"Wow, yeah," Alec shrugged. "Go ahead."

Unfortunately for Jinx, his audience were far too captivated by the Mohawk-less top of his head and weren't listening to what he had to say at all.

"Oh come on!" Jinx said, finally dropping his arms back to his sides. "You're really gonna wanna know what I know!"

"Was it Reno?" Alec suddenly asked, a small grin on his face.

Jinx glared at him and said slowly, "Why on earth would you think that?"

"Well, he came looking for you a while ago and told me he was planning your death. So, I guess for _you_ this is as bad as dying, right?" Alec shrugged.

"Can we not talk about this please?" Jinx said angrily. "Now, check your PHS's!"

Kayli frowned and pulled hers out, surprised to find that there was a message she hadn't noticed before. Glancing around, she surmised that Davis, Alec and Cloud had all found the same thing from the looks on their faces.

Clicking the message open, she tried to read while Jinx started talking again.

"They've said that the first seven people to accept will get to go on the mission and that's all they're taking! I've already accepted, of course. But it's a mission to Corel! That's my _hometown_ for goodness sake! I'm gonna see my Ma!"

Sure enough, the message contained details of a mission to Corel to kill some monsters that had been seen around. Kayli had never been there before and it sounded like a good chance to get extra hands-on experience with fighting monsters, so she grinned and quickly accepted. Hopefully she'd be one of the first seven.

Davis continued looking down at it for a while before sighing and snapping his PHS shut. Kayli looked at him curiously and he shrugged.

"I'm not gonna go."

"Why not? It'll be awesome!" Kayli exclaimed.

"I'm gonna stay here and keep Rex company as much as possible," he explained. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about _me_-" Kayli began to laugh that off when Jinx interrupted.

"You two seem_ incredibly_ close today, don't you think?" he asked, folding his arms and raising his eyebrows. "Are you sure you'll be able to survive if one goes on the mission and the other stays behind?"

"I'll make do," Kayli laughed, before the laugh went cold and died a sad death. How could she have been so stupid? Jinx didn't know she was a girl!

Davis was pale and staring at her like she'd just sealed his fate.

"So it's true?" Jinx asked smugly.

"What?" Kayli asked, deciding to play dumb and turning to look at Jinx again, trying to ignore the stare Davis still had fixed on her.

"That you and Davis are together." Jinx said simply.

"Well..." Kayli fumbled in the dark for something she could say. She didn't want to lie to him since they'd been getting closer lately and he was actually an okay guy, but was it really a good idea to just keep telling people she was a girl when the situation got awkward? At this rate she'd be telling Lazard she was a girl, too!

"Yeah," Davis suddenly spoke up and grabbed her hand, surprising everyone. "We are."


	36. Chapter 35

A/N: It's official (unless something goes wrong). There will be 4 more chapters after this one (36, 37, 38, 39) and then there will be an epilogue (which I have already written, don't you love me?). Please review this chapter! The next chapter is already written but I'm thinking of putting it up in a weeks time unless I get a lot of reviews hehe XD

Thanks so much for reading, guys! I am keeping a secret from you about this story... and I will tell you what it is at the end of the next chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

Rex stared at the clock on the wall and watched as the second hand ticked around in a circle at an agonisingly slow pace. He was standing up and anxiously walking from one side of the room to the other, all the while keeping his eyes on the clock.

The doctor had told him it would be a good idea to get used to walking again now that his body weight was unevenly spread and after the first few times it had become natural. But now he was nervous because the doctor was coming to see him in a few minutes. Normally Rex would just be annoyed by all the visits he was getting from medical staff, but this time he was nervous because he actually had an important question he wanted to ask.

The minutes seemed to take years to go by and when it had reached the time that the doctor had told Rex to expect him, Rex sat down on his bed and tried to relax. The answer didn't really matter, anyway. Why was he getting so worked up? Wasn't he okay with his situation? He'd had so much time to think about it and get used to it. Was he really having second thoughts?

Of course he was. Who would want to go through their entire life with only one arm? It had been awkward enough talking to Gemma before and seeing the pity in her eyes every time he tried to do something which normally needed two hands. She'd helped him, of course, but he didn't want to always be helped.

What if he got up the guts to ask her out one day? What if they went on a date and he tried to hug her? That would be so unromantic Rex didn't even want to think about it. With only one arm it would be like a side-hug that didn't have much heart-felt emotion in it.

Sitting there, alone, Rex finally admitted to himself what he had feared.

He couldn't handle only having one arm.

"It's okay, I've got him," Gemma had said when he'd tried to get Pup off the bed earlier. She'd pulled the dog off with both her arms and then given him a hug before standing up again and smiling at Rex. The conversation had been slightly awkward at first after Kayli left, but soon they were able to talk about anything and have a laugh together.

To his surprise, Rex had found himself asking her if she'd ever had a boyfriend before and if she was currently involved with someone – even though he'd asked Kayli and been told that Gemma was single. That part of the conversation had been full of shy smiles and a few winks from Rex as he did his best to continue being his normal, flirty self.

The door suddenly opened and Rex looked up, shaking his head slightly to clear it and seeing the doctor walk in.

"Hello Rex," the doctor said, sitting down on the chair as he always did. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine," Rex said with a small shrug. How was he going to ask?

"That's good. Have you been doing some walking again today?" the doctor asked, reaching over carefully to check the bandages which were still wrapped around Rex's shoulder.

"Yeah," Rex nodded. "It feels normal now."

"That's good to hear," the doctor said with a nod. "You should be out of here soon, just as soon as the wound closes properly."

"Thanks," Rex mumbled. He clenched his right hand into a fist and mentally gave himself a pep-talk, trying to get himself ready to ask his question.

"Is there something on your mind?" the doctor asked suddenly frowning and leaning back in his chair as he studied Rex's face. "You look like you're really thinking hard about something."

Rex swallowed and shifted on the bed. "I've um, I've got a question."

"About whether you can still be a Turk?" the doctor asked sadly. "I'm sorry, but like I said before I don't know. You'd have to talk to someone else about that."

"No, it's not that." Rex quickly shook his head and the doctor nodded for him to continue. "I was actually wondering if... is it possible for me to get some sort of..." Rex sighed and realised he was sweating. Was it really that hard to ask? Of course, it was a sensitive question for him, but the doctor probably wouldn't think much of it. He just needed to know so _badly_! "Is it possible for me to get a prosthetic arm?"

The doctor sat up a bit straighter and his face turned incredibly serious. Rex inwardly prepared himself for disappointment, just _knowing_ he was asking for too much.

"Prosthetics are very expensive," the doctor began slowly. "They also take a lot of getting used to."

"But it's possible?" Rex asked, eyebrows raising.

"Like I said, they're very expensive! ShinRa wouldn't cover any of the cost since you're only an Infantryman..." With a sigh, the doctor ran a hand through his short hair. "It _is_ possible, but you'd have to pay for it all yourself and if it malfunctions it costs even more to get it fixed up again."

"So basically," Rex said with a sigh. "You're advising against it."

"Rex, you have incredible potential! I believe you are capable of getting used to this and learning how to live a normal life again against all odds," the doctor said honestly. "Why pay so much money on something you can do without?"

"But what if I can't?" Rex shot back angrily. "I want _so_ badly to be a Turk, but they keep telling me they have to assess my situation and get back to me on whether I can or not. Don't you think if I got a prosthetic arm there'd be no problem anymore?"

"I don't know about that," the doctor admitted. "But maybe, if that's what they're saying, you should work harder at adapting to having no arm."

"I don't _want_ to live like this! I want to be normal again!" Rex yelled, standing up so that he could tower over the doctor. However, the doctor simply stood as well and quickly pushed Rex back down.

"Don't work yourself up," he ordered. "It'll only be bad for you in the long run."

Rex didn't reply, simply glaring angrily and allowing the doctor to push him down on the pillow again.

"When's your next appointment with the counsellor?"

"I don't care." Rex spat.

"Well whenever you see him," the doctor said, cautiously sitting back in the chair now that Rex was lying down. "Could you please try and cooperate with him? I heard he's been having some difficulties getting you to work with him."

"Everyone thinks I've lost it!" Rex complained, turning his head to shoot daggers at his doctor with his eyes. "The more I talk to that counsellor the more people are going to think it's true."

"Rex, you've just lost an arm! I assure you people will be shocked if you_ don't_ talk to a counsellor! Anyone in your situation would have suffered some mental trauma."

"Oh great," Rex said sarcastically. "So I _have_ lost it."

"Rex, I didn't-"

"How will I ever be able to talk to my friends again? Maybe you should lock me up in a mental institute so the only harm I can do is to myself and not others." Rex instinctively moved his arm as if to fold it, but as it draped sadly across his chest without another to accompany it, Rex fell silent.

"Rex," the doctor said quietly. "Please talk to the counsellor. You are not insane, you just need help figuring out how to deal with your situation."

"Isn't it obvious? I'll go home a civilian and start working to earn money. I'll only just manage to get by with the money I make and..." He trailed off and closed his eyes. Why was he saying all this? He was meant to be a happy, carefree guy that worried the most about how he was going to get the girl of his dreams to go out with him.

There was silence in the room for a few minutes as no one spoke and Rex hoped the doctor would leave. But then, one last time, the doctor spoke up.

"I'll have a look into the prosthetics and see if I can find anything else out for you."

Rex was surprised and opened his eyes, looking over to see the man standing and heading for the door. Remaining silent, Rex watched him leave and then let out a breath. He wished Davis was with him.

* * *

There was silence in the room as everyone tried to take in what had just been said. Finally, it was broken as someone spoke.

"R-really?" Jinx stuttered. That answer from Davis had _not_ been what he was expecting at all. He had been expecting denial – a lot of it – and lots of opportunities to tease them both. But there they were, looking much calmer than he would have been in the same situation.

"Yeah, really," Davis nodded. "Got a problem?"

Kayli lowered her head to look down at her lap, trying to hide the smile on her face. She was amazed that Davis had been brave enough to tell the truth when it was obvious people would think things about him that weren't true. However, she also couldn't help but find it amusing. Jinx looked so stumped!

"Why would I have a problem with it?" Jinx asked defensively. "I never said I had a problem with it."

"Good." Davis shrugged.

"...Are you serious?"

Cloud promptly fell face-first into his pillow as he did his best to smother his laughs. Jinx looked around at him in annoyance and then back at Davis, folding his arms.

"You _are_ kidding, aren't you? You're joking around to make me look like a fool." Jinx accused.

"I'm not!" Davis said seriously. "Roy, tell him!"

"Davis and I are officially going out," Kayli said, lifting her head up again, hoping she had good enough control over herself. "And I really like him."

Jinx involuntarily took a step backwards, his eyebrows raised. His arms were still folded and the way he'd tensed made it look as though he was hugging himself. Kayli fought not to smile and even shifted slightly closer to Davis just to freak him out a bit more – although, she was already sitting really close to Davis and found it hard to move even closer without sitting on his lap.

"'Kay." Jinx said finally. "I'm gonna go see if... if Jensen knows whether we were in the first seven yet."

"So Jensen accepted it too?" Kayli asked, deciding to help Jinx change the subject.

"Yeah, he did," Jinx nodded. "But I've got a feeling he'll have to do quite a bit of grovelling to actually be allowed. Remember, he can only see out of one eye."

"That'll definitely make it harder," Alec agreed. "Tell him good luck convincing them to let him go if he did get in the first seven."

"I _hope_ he was in the first seven," Kayli spoke up. "If he wasn't then I've definitely got no chance of being counted as well. I just wonder why I didn't feel the vibration when the message was sent."

"I didn't either," Jinx said. "Maybe they somehow fixed it that way so the few who regularly check for messages got first choice."

"Guess that makes you a PHS addict," Kayli joked with a grin.

"Nah, Jensen told me 'bout it!" Jinx explained. "Apparently he was playing games on it and noticed the message symbol flashing at the top of the screen."

"It'll suck if he's not allowed to go on the mission, then," Kayli said thoughtfully. "If you need to get a petition signed, you can add my name." Grinning up at him, she watched as he rolled his eyes.

"You're so strange Roy," he sighed. "Anyway, I'll see you later." Frowning at Kayli and Davis one last time, Jinx disappeared out the door and down the corridor quickly.

The occupants of the room burst into laughter and Kayli covered her face with her hands, feeling tears beginning to leak out from her eyes. Cloud looked as though he was suffocating in his pillow, only making the situation funnier for the other three who looked over at him.

"His face!" Alec gasped out. "He was so not expecting that! Neither was I, for that matter, but oh my gosh you got him so good!"

"Why thank you, I know I'm brilliant!" Davis laughed.

"Gosh," Kayli breathed heavily, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Will he ever be able to look at us the same way again?"

"Probably not," Davis grinned at her.

"Are you sure you're okay with it? I mean... he's probably not going to keep it quiet." Kayli said, calming down a lot and waiting for Davis' response. If he wasn't sure about it she was determined to go find Jinx and tell him she was a girl, swearing him to secrecy.

"It's fine," Davis said. "People will find out when you become a SOLDIER, right? Since you wanna prove that girls can do it and you'll have to reveal your gender in order for that to happen."

"Yeah, definitely." Kayli nodded. Proving that girls could be SOLDIERs was not the top of her priority list since she had only ever joined ShinRa in the first place to fulfill Roy's own dream, but it still seemed like a pretty good idea. There shouldn't even be a stupid rule like that! Honestly, there were female Turks so why couldn't there be female SOLDIERs?

"So you've already accepted the mission, right?" Alec asked and Kayli looked up at him.

"Yeah, I have. Have you?"

"I'm not gonna go," Alec told her. "I don't think I know enough yet to be going on a mission. I'd like a _lot_ more training before that happens."

"Fair enough," Kayli nodded. "Spiky?"

Cloud sat up on his bed and looked over at her. If she hadn't seen him dying with laughter before she never would have thought he'd found anything funny. His facial expression was as normal as it ever was.

"I accepted it," he said.

"Great! I hope we made it into the first seven," Kayli chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Oh, did anyone check when it is?" Pulling out her PHS again, Kayli navigated to the message and read it over. Apparently they'd be setting out on the mission in a weeks time.

"Is the time significant?" Davis asked, raising an eyebrow at Kayli.

"Huh?" she asked, looking up at him cluelessly.

"You were staring at it pretty intently. Is there something significant or distressing about when the mission is?" Davis went on.

"Oh, well..." Kayli trailed off and looked back down at the PHS, mumbling something under her breath as she did some calculations. Looking back up at him, she grinned. "Two days after the mission ends I turn fifteen."

"No way!" Davis exclaimed, eyes lighting up. "That's awesome! Are you gonna ask for time off to go back to your parents and have a birthday party or something?"

Laughing almost hysterically, Kayli shook her head harshly at him. "No way! Can you imagine ShinRa ever passing something like that even if I did ask for it? They'd tell me to suck it up and move on with my life, or invite my parents here."

"Ha, I don't know about that," Davis winked at her. "You do seem to have Sephiroth pretty well wrapped around your finger."

"Believe me, Davis," Kayli sighed. "He's only keeping my secret because he finds it amusing. What fun is it for him if I'm not at ShinRa?"

"What, _Sephiroth_ knows?" Alec gasped in alarm. Kayli frowned up at him and tilted her head slightly to the side.

"You didn't know that?" she asked.

"I know practically nothing!" Alec exclaimed. "This is so not fair. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought you knew! Everyone knows." Kayli shrugged.

"So the President knows that Sephiroth knows your secret?" Alec asked flatly, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be stupid!" Kayli laughed and threw her pillow at him. He caught it and grinned before throwing it back.

"Whatever," he said. "Just try to keep me a bit more up-to-date in the future, okay? Seriously, _Sephiroth_ knowing your secret but not telling anyone is awesome. I can't believe he'd do that."

"I'm just too cool, aren't I?" Kayli asked with a snicker. Alec rolled his eyes and she grinned at him.

"Kayli," Cloud said, standing up. "Do you wanna go find out if we got in the first seven? The sooner the better, I think."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Kayli agreed, also standing and pocketing her PHS. She and Cloud left the room and headed through the corridors towards Lazard's office. As the director for SOLDIER, he should know.

When they got there the room already occupied three other people besides Lazard. Zack, Jensen and Jinx were standing in front of the directors desk and the last two appeared desperate.

"Please, Sir!" Jinx was saying. "I'll look out for him!"

"Have you ever tried to go through an entire training session with one eye closed?" Lazard asked him. "You lose your entire depth perception."

"Yes, Sir! I understand Sir, but if I'm there for him it won't matter! I'll be able to help him if he can't tell the distance to something or starts walking in circles. Come on, Sir! Look! Together," Jinx pulled Jensen slightly closer to himself and waved his arms around the front of both their faces wildly. "We're the three-eyed-monster! He'll be fine!"

Lazard did not look impressed.

"Do you think you are capable of going on this mission, Bailey?" he asked. Jensen nodded quickly.

"Yes, Sir."

Leaning his chin on one hand, Lazard stared at them silently for a while. He seemed to be thinking it over and over in his head, weighing the pros and cons to try and determine what he should do.

"You two are dismissed," he said finally. "I will contact you later with an answer as to whether or not you can go, Bailey."

"Thank you Sir!" Jensen said, saluting and then turning to leave. Jinx beamed, saluted and ran after Jensen.

Seeing Kayli and Cloud, Jinx actually squeaked and side-stepped a few paces before fixing his eyes straight ahead and walking out the door calmly. Kayli and Cloud shared an amused smile before stepping forward and saluting Lazard.

"Yes, Cadets? How can I help you?" he asked.

"Sir," Kayli began. "We were curious to find out whether we made it into the first seven going on the mission in a week."

"Of course," Lazard said, shifting some of his papers and looking down at a particular one. "Yes. Strife was the seventh to accept."

"Thank you, Sir," Kayli said with a small smile. "Will there be a meeting before we head out?"

"Yes," Lazard confirmed. "You will be sent messages on your PHS's giving you the date and time of the meeting and if you do not attend your position on the mission will be given to someone else."

Kayli and Cloud both nodded to show they understood and then waited patiently. Lazard said "You are dismissed", they saluted a second time and then turned to leave.

Outside in the corridor, they were five steps away when Zack bounded out and jumped in front of them.

"Hey! Guess what," he said excitedly. "I'm overseeing the mission you're going on!"

"Really?" Kayli asked.

"Yeah! It's gonna be so awesome," he grinned. "Those monsters won't know what hit them, and they'll all be wishing as they die that they'd _never_ met the-"

"-Zackinator." Kayli and Cloud both finished for him. Zack laughed and nodded.

"Exactly!"

"So do you know any secret information about the mission, then?" Kayli asked. "Or is it really just a boring mission to deal with some monsters?"

"Sorry," Zack chuckled. "That's what it is. But hey, we'll have fun together! Anything boring can be made fun if you've got friends around."

"Yeah, I guess," Kayli agreed.

"And you know what's exciting?" Zack asked with an excited gleam in his eyes. Kayli and Cloud shrugged for him to continue as they obviously had no idea what it was he was thinking this time. "Angeal told me that if I do really well on this mission he'll recommend me for 1st Class SOLDIER! Isn't that awesome?"

"Wow, yeah!" Kayli nodded. Zack had been a 2nd Class for a very long time, in her opinion, and she thought that despite his occasional lapses in concentration and tendency to get overexcited, he'd make a really good 1st Class SOLDIER.

"I hope you make it," Cloud said with a smile.

"Thanks! Me too." Zack sighed happily.

"So, what's in Corel anyway?" Cloud then asked curiously. Kayli thought that was a very good question and looked up at Zack expectantly.

"Well," Zack began. "It's a bit similar to my hometown in one aspect, although it's a lot bigger than Gongaga."

"Wait, _Gongaga_?" Cloud asked, shocked. "What kind of a place is _that_?"

"Excuse me!" Zack said, putting his hands on his hips and pretending to be offended. "Gongaga is a lovely little country town. I suppose you've grown up in Midgar your whole life?"

"Are you kidding? I'm from a country town too," Cloud said. "Nibelheim."

Zack burst out laughing before saying, "And you thought Gongaga was funny!"

Kayli watched the two of them in amusement, eyebrows raised. As they continued to tease each other, they quickly got onto the topic of how their country homes had a Mako Reactor and nothing else.

"And that brings me back to what I was saying before!" Zack said suddenly. "Corel's got a Mako Reactor too!"

"That would explain the monster problem."

Sighing, Kayli decided to head back to the room. Since Cloud and Zack had gone back to talking about their hometowns again they didn't even notice when she tried to say goodbye, so she just gave up and left.

Reaching the room, she walked in to find Alec and Davis doing squats. Folding her arms, she waited for them to notice her.

When they did, she shook her head at them and said simply, "I should have known that leaving you two together wouldn't be a good idea."


	37. Chapter 36

A/N: This is me, having pity on my readers and deciding to post this chapter earlier than intended. =D I hope you enjoy this one! And after this there will only be 3 chapters plus the epilogue! Are you excited? Because I sure am! Oh yeah and in case anyone reads the new 'chapter summaries' that I write in the summary each time, it's true that there is some INTENSE foreshadowing in this chapter. You may try and guess what it is if you'd like but I won't be telling you and you will simply have to figure it out ALL BY YOURSELF. Mwahahahahahahahahahaha!

**Also, the secret that I mentioned at the beginning of the last chapter is at the bottom of this chapter BUT READ THE CHAPTER FIRST! DON'T JUST SCROLL DOWN!**

...okay now start reading.

* * *

A week later Kayli was sitting in a ShinRa helicopter beside Cloud, while Jensen was sitting beside Jinx behind them. There were three other Infantrymen who sat in front and Kayli didn't know them, but she didn't mind as they were keeping to themselves a lot. Zack was sitting up the front with the pilot.

Glancing back at Jensen and Jinx, Kayli couldn't help but grin. Jensen was wearing an eye patch that Jinx had given to him while they were preparing for the mission. It was black and had a pirate symbol drawn onto it in white. How Jinx had convinced Jensen to wear it she had no idea, but she was glad he had. It was brilliant!

As the helicopter flew them to their destination, Kayli thought back over the last few days she'd spent at ShinRa. All the Infantrymen instructors had been given a list of who was going on the mission and therefore worked those selected seven harder than all the others just to prepare them for leaving. Kayli thought it was a good idea, especially since she'd been wanting to practice her sword skills a lot more and had been given the chance against Brawn in her last lesson with him.

She'd visited Rex again since he was _still_ bed-ridden and was worried to find that he didn't look too good. She thought it was a good idea from Davis to stay behind and keep Rex company since the boy obviously needed it.

A groan interrupted her thoughts and she glanced across to see Cloud dropping his head between his knees. Cringing, she remembered Cloud telling her a while ago that he didn't like heights. Poor thing. It looked like he had a bit of motion sickness too.

The rest of the helicopter ride was fairly boring as Cloud kept his head between his knees and no one else spoke to Kayli. The three in front of her spoke quietly to themselves but listening in to the conversation proved to be boring since they were just talking about training. Jensen and Jinx couldn't amuse her either since every time she turned back to look at them Jinx raised his eyebrows at her and wouldn't stop until she turned back in her seat again.

Therefore, when they _finally_ arrived at their destination Kayli couldn't be happier. The doors opened and she was just standing up to get out when Cloud leapt up and bolted, pushing people out of the way in his rush. Kayli quickly followed after him – less destructively – and found him on his hands and knees, retching onto the grass.

Looking away, Kayli patiently waited for him to finish and fought off her own feeling of queasiness. Once he stood up and wiped his mouth, she turned back to him.

"You okay?" she asked, frowning as she saw just how pale he was.

"I'll-" he breathed slowly. "I'll be fine."

"Whoa, Spiky," Zack said, walking over. "You don't like flying?"

"Not really, no," Cloud admitted sadly, staring at his feet in embarrassment. Kayli didn't blame him for being embarrassed either, since everyone was watching him. If it was her in his place, she'd definitely feel the same way.

"Alright," Zack said, his gaze lingering on Cloud a bit longer just to make sure the blond wasn't about to collapse or anything, before he turned to the other Infantrymen and addressed them all. "We've got two days to complete this mission which is plenty of time. I suggest that today we do a scout-around just to see where all the monsters are and what the best plan of attack will be. Then, depending on how difficult it is and how long it takes to complete, you can all have the rest of the mission time off to do anything you like."

"Yes! I'm gonna see my Ma!" Jinx exclaimed.

Zack laughed and shook his head before yelling at them to all fall in and follow him, running off into the town. Kayli glanced across at Cloud, shrugged, and followed.

It didn't take long for them to get instructions from some of the people in the town who eagerly pointed them in the direction of the monsters. It seemed the monsters were quite a bad problem and the town residents would be very glad to see them go.

"Amazing," Jinx shook his head as they walked towards the place the monsters had last been seen. "That such a bad case of monsters can come in such a short amount of time. It feels like just yesterday that I left for ShinRa!"

Getting closer, Zack gestured for everyone to quieten down and did a quick look around the area for himself before using hand signals to tell two of the infantrymen who Kayli didn't know to look around in an opposite direction. The whole process made Kayli tense up and she found herself listening to her heart beat and looking around at her surroundings anxiously as if a monster was about to jump out at her from anywhere.

Using some more hand signals, Zack told the rest of them to follow quietly behind him and set off through the trees. He had his sword in his hand as he walked and was listening intently to every sound he could hear.

All the infantrymen also had swords since Lazard had told them in the meeting that they would be using this mission to practice their sword skills against real enemies. If another mission came up and they got to go, they would be allowed to use a gun if that was their preferred weapon of choice.

Kayli was glad she was using a sword, though. Apart from the fact that it seemed much more like a SOLDIER weapon to her, it also felt much better in her hands than a gun and helped to reassure her.

A crack sounded to her left and Kayli quickly turned to look, her eyes wide in fright as they darted around. Cloud pulled up beside her and also looked around before gesturing with his head for her to follow him. She did, but kept looking behind. Zack was pretty far up ahead now with the other infantrymen, although Kayli thought it was highly likely the monsters might already know they were there and try to attack from the back.

Nothing happened for another three minutes as they walked, but then there was a loud snarl from up ahead and Kayli looked up just in time to see a monster leap out at the group, its paws swinging in the air and aiming for Jensen and Jinx who were closest. Kayli involuntarily let out a scream before she started running forward. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as she saw Jensen stumble sideways and then get shoved to the ground by Jinx.

A loud clash sounded as Jinx's sword slammed against the monsters teeth, making it slide backwards a few feet now that it had landed on the ground. As soon as that happened, Jinx turned and grabbed Jensen in order to try and pull him away.

"_Jinx!_" Kayli screamed out, watching the monster lunge once again. They weren't going to make it.

But just when she thought the worst was going to happen, Jensen swung around in his friends grip with his sword out in front of him and then stood facing the monster. Zack yelled out something – he too was running towards the scene – but before anyone could do anything Jensen had thrust forwards with his arm and the monster half landed on the sword, letting out a squeal of pain and catching the side of Jensen's arm with a claw.

Another monster suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, bearing its teeth and leaping towards some of the other infantrymen. They all raised their swords in defensive but it was Zack who leapt in front of them and quickly stabbed the beast.

"Man," Zack said as he pulled his sword out again. "This is heaps fun!"

The battle continued that way. Occasionally some of the infantrymen would get a chance to wound or kill, but when the situation turned bad Zack would jump in and finish it off just like he was meant to as the overseer of the mission.

Once Zack was positive all the monsters had been dealt with, he instructed them to head back to check into the inn they would be staying at. It was afternoon now so they'd have a bit of time to wander around before having to go to bed and Jinx was already rattling on to Jensen about his Ma's cooking.

Jensen listened to his friend talking, mumbling responses and nodding in all the right places. His arm was okay as it was practically just a graze, but as Zack had said to him before they started heading back he had to have something put on it when they reached the inn. No one else had been injured.

They were all tired as they walked in the doors and up to their room. Kayli was amazed as she sat down on her designated bed that the mission was over so quickly. Once she was a SOLDIER it would probably take her even less time to do things like that.

What was she going to do for the rest of the afternoon and all of tomorrow? It was obvious what Jinx was going to do since he still hadn't stopped talking about his Ma, but Kayli had no real interest in this town. It was a new place, though, so perhaps she would simply take someone with her to explore the area.

Sighing and flopping back on her bed, she thought to herself,_ I'll do that tomorrow._

Zack had pulled out the first aid kit for Jensen and was quickly applying stuff to the boys arm so that it didn't get infected. It was too minor a wound for materia to be used.

"So we've got the rest of the time off, right?" Jinx asked just to make sure for the seventh time. Zack sighed and shook his head with a light chuckle, finishing up with Jensen and standing to look at the boy with green hair. It was still strange to see the boy without a Mohawk.

"Yes! And you can go see your Ma whenever you want. You can even sleep in your own bed tonight if you feel like it!" Zack told him. "Just as long as you're back by tomorrow afternoon I don't care what you do."

"Great! Jensen, d'you wanna come meet my Ma?" Jinx asked eagerly.

Jensen looked up and was about to gently decline when Zack got in first and shook his head firmly.

"Look at him!" Zack ordered. "He's so tired he's practically asleep already. And I know that wound was almost nothing but I've got orders to look out for him more than any of you other guys because of his impairment. You can go visit your Ma, but Jensen's not going with you."

"Aww, that sucks!" Jinx pouted. "Now how is he going to know if I was telling the truth about her cooking?"

"Look," Zack said. "If you want to wait for tomorrow I might let him go with you. But if you wanna go tonight you'll be by yourself."

Jinx truly did think it over. He was silent for quite a long time as he tried to decide what was best to do before finally sighing and squatting down to Jensen's level.

"I'll see you when I get back. Might save you some food if you want, too." He flashed a grin.

"Alright," Jensen shrugged. "I was gonna say no anyway. I'm really tired."

"Get some sleep then."

Jinx stood and glanced around at the other infantrymen before walking over to Cloud and clearing his throat awkwardly to get his attention.

"Hey," he began. "Do you wanna come with me to my house? I wanna see my Ma."

Cloud shrugged and nodded, dumping his helmet on his bed.

"See you later," Cloud said, nudging Kayli's dead form before following Jinx towards the door. Just before they left, Jinx called back to Zack that they were going and Zack nodded, giving them the okay.

Leaving the inn, Jinx quickly began talking about his home life all over again now that he had a new audience.

"Ma cooks the best food you'll ever taste," Jinx began. "She always works so hard on each meal and that's what makes it so good. You know what I mean? It's only when people put lots of hard effort into things that the results turn out good. That's what she always used to tell me and it's why I always work so hard in my training! The harder I work, the better I'll get and the likelier it is I'll become a Turk!"

"Have you always wanted to be a Turk?" Cloud asked curiously.

"What? Yeah, of course!" Jinx nodded happily. "Reno inspired me, you know. He's so cool, don't you think? Of course, not so cool when he decided to... ahem. But my house is awesome too! It's got this awesome..."

Cloud tuned him out as they walked, honestly not that interested by what the other boy had to say. He felt a bit bad since he imagined if he was bringing a friend to his own house in Nibelheim he'd want to tell them all about it as well, but right now his heart just wasn't in it. The fact that he might not ever be a SOLDIER wouldn't leave his mind alone.

Before coming on the mission he'd gone to see Hojo once, but the scientist hadn't done much except check all his vitals and tell him to work harder in his next training session. How was that supposed to help him?

To be honest, though, that had been a big part of why he was trying so hard on this mission. He wanted to do well so that he could improve his chances at becoming a SOLDIER, no matter how slim those chances were.

Coming out of his thoughts, Cloud looked up to see Jinx pointing and rattling off about the guy who lived in the house they were passing.

"He always used to give me toys at Christmas until I turned ten." Jinx explained before moving onto the person across the street and telling a funny story about them. Cloud found himself smiling at the story of the poor lady's cat getting stuck on the roof and was soon laughing with Jinx at how silly neighbourhood residents could be.

As they got closer to Jinx's house, the stories got longer and funnier. Apparently Jinx had known a lot about the people he had lived near. Cloud thought he was going to bust a lung when Jinx told him about the man who lived next door. One year he'd taken a big fall off a ladder while trying to fix his shed and hadn't been able to think straight for ages. He'd gotten so confused one night about where he lived that he'd ended up on Jinx's couch and Jinx's mum had had to call one of her other friends to get him out.

"Oh," Jinx said suddenly, stopping and staring across the road. They were standing out the front of his own home and Cloud wondered what could be so interesting about the people across the road that had gotten Jinx to stop right outside his familiar place of warmth. "Cloud, there's a kid about my age who lives in that house and he's_ terrifying_."

"Really?" Cloud asked, glancing over at the house. Looking at one of the windows, he saw the curtain move slightly and squinted. He could make out a face at the bottom corner but couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy. Almost instantly, though, it vanished.

"Yeah," Jinx nodded, turning to face his house again. "Kid got into an accident with a tractor when he was younger and now you can't even see his face properly, he's scarred so bad. Ma thinks that's a lie, though. She doesn't want me near him and quite frankly, I'm fine with that!"

Stepping forward, Jinx grinned and knocked hard on the door.

Cloud glanced back at the house across the road again and frowned to see the face was back in the window. Now that he thought about it, he did think it looked like scars which were obscuring his view of the face.

He turned back to Jinx's door when it opened and was surprised to see the woman standing there also had green hair. Had he been mistaken in thinking Jinx dyed it or did this woman dye her hair as well?

"Ma!" Jinx exclaimed.

"Jay!" she squealed, scooping him up into a hug and squeezing him tightly. Letting him go to get a better look at her son, she suddenly screamed and covered her mouth with one hand, eyes widening. "What happened to your beautiful hair?"

"It wasn't my fault! It was Reno!" Jinx said sadly, sagging in front of his mother and staring at the ground.

"Why would he do something like that?" she asked in disbelief.

"He's never liked me for some reason, Ma!" Jinx pouted. "I don't know why but he thinks I'm annoying. He said this would teach me for being so annoying..."

"Did you do anything to him to deserve this?" his mother asked firmly, tilting his head up so that she could look him right in the eyes. He shifted uncomfortably and shrugged.

"I don't think so."

"Meaning yes you did," she tutted. "When will you learn? That man is not someone to be messed with!"

"I thought he'd be happy that I wanted to be so much like him. You know, I thought he'd go around boasting to people that he had a fan! But he never did. He just told me to leave him alone and told everyone I was stupid." Jinx's bottom lip began to tremble and he was pulled into another hug as his mother sighed.

"I'm sure it'll blow over. Besides, at least you can grow your hair out again so it's not too bad. Would you have preferred it if he broke one of your bones?"

Jinx looked down again and muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The raised eyebrows showed that Jinx's mother didn't believe him but she shrugged it off, deciding to let it go and simply enjoy having her son back home for the moment. "So this is your uniform? You look so grown up in it!"

"I know, don't I?" Jinx said cheekily before glancing over at Cloud and stepping back slightly so his mother could see him too. "Ma, this is Cloud! He's one of my friends."

Mrs Inks turned to Cloud with a warm smile and hugged him before he could object. Thankfully he was used to it having grown up in a country town where everybody was really affectionate with each other.

"Come on inside!" she said excitedly, pushing them through. "You do have time, don't you? I'd love it if you could stay for dinner."

"Yeah!" Jinx nodded. "I can even sleep here tonight if you want me to!"

"That would be great!" Mrs Inks said, moving over to the kitchen where she began to dig out everything she would need in order to cook a meal large enough for three people. "Would you stay for dinner, Cloud? I'm sure I'll be able to make _something_ you like."

Cloud smiled and nodded. "I'd love to."

"Wonderful!" she said happily, pulling out different ingredients from her cupboards and then picking out two of her recipe books. She flicked through the pages at an incredible speed that Cloud was left dizzy and had to turn away because it was so fast and he couldn't keep up with it.

"So, has anything changed while I've been gone?" Jinx asked.

"Not really," his mother replied with a small shrug. "I'm not sure if you'd noticed but the people across the road are still there. I wonder if they'll move if I blow up their letterbox."

"Ma, not in front of the guest!" Jinx said jokingly, grinning at Cloud's wide-eyed expression at what Jinx's mother had just suggested she might do. Cloud didn't think he'd ever met anyone quite like either Jinx or his mother.

"So what about you?" Mrs Inks asked then as she put some ingredients into a bowl and began mixing them up. "Have you changed other than your hair? Gotten any smarter, taller maybe?"

"Very funny." Jinx rolled his eyes. "I'm still the same old me, Ma."

"That doesn't make for a very good story. Is there anything you _can_ tell me?"

"I've been to Wutai!" he said suddenly, his eyes wide in excitement as he watched his mother for a reaction. There was a second where she kept doing things normally before suddenly she dropped everything and spun around.

"Wutai? You did? Really?"

"Yes!" Jinx nodded. "And I survived!"

"I'm so proud of you!"

Cloud watched awkwardly as the two green-haired people hugged again and then separated, beaming at each other.

"I fought so well in Wutai," Jinx went on. "One of my other friends Davis and I were back-to-back for most of it. That worked really well! I'm so proud of our efforts."

"So am I!" Mrs Inks said. "Cloud, did you go too?"

"No, Ma'am," Cloud shook his head shyly. "I took the SOLDIER test instead."

For a moment Mrs Inks grinned wider, but then as she glanced over his uniform her expression saddened and she moved over to put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

"Don't worry about it," she told him. "You just work hard in all your training sessions and then try again another time. Okay?"

Cloud smiled at her and nodded, feeling as though that was something his own mother would say to him in the same situation. It was nice being around a motherly figure again after so long in ShinRa, a place overrun by guys holding in their emotions.

Mrs Inks went back to her preparations then and Jinx waved Cloud over, heading off through the house towards his room. When they got there, Jinx pulled out a photo album and sat on the edge of his bed, gesturing for Cloud to sit beside him.

Cloud felt a bit awkward acting as Jinx's best friend since he was sure Jinx had only invited him to come because Jensen wasn't able to, but he didn't want to say anything in case things became even more awkward than they already were.

"Ma bought me a camera when I was six," Jinx explained as he opened up the first page where there was a photo showing the bottom half of a younger Jinx's grinning face. "I was pretty bad at first."

Cloud smiled, not wanting to say anything to that in case he offended the boy.

The next page showed a picture of Jinx's mother standing beside a man Cloud assumed was Jinx's father. They were smiling and had their arms around each other happily. Cloud thought the photo was beautiful. He wished his own father had been around for his mother when he was growing up. How was she doing now, on her own?

Jinx flicked through a few pages before stopping on a picture of him on his eighth birthday. It had the occasion scrawled at the top of the page and Cloud couldn't help but chuckle at the miniature Mohawk visible on the eight-year-old's head.

"You ready for the next one?" Jinx asked suddenly, his tone of voice dark and making Cloud look up. Jinx was grinning evilly and even his eyes had an evil glint in them.

"Um, I'm not sure now." Cloud said cautiously, raising an eyebrow.

Jinx laughed and turned the page.

It was Reno. He stood in the picture with a Jinx that still looked only eight and although his facial expression showed boredom he had an arm loosely around the boys shoulders.

"See? I did know him! Proof! Everyone's _got_ to believe me when I show them this!" Jinx roared, jumping off the bed and doing a little dance of happiness, holding the photo album up high in the air.

"Jinx, stop it!" Cloud laughed. "What is so important about that?"

"No one believes me when I tell them I know Reno even before moving to Midgar!" Jinx said, calming down enough to reply.

"So? Don't you think it'll annoy Reno even more if you start showing photos of him around ShinRa?" Cloud asked, unable to hide his smile. The ludicrousness of that idea amused him for some reason.

"Who cares? Don't tell anyone but... annoying him is my life goal! After I realised he'd never think I was cool I decided I could settle for just annoying him until one of us dies." Jinx grinned.

"That's so evil." Cloud laughed.

"I know!"

* * *

A/N: Hello! It's me again! Have you read the chapter? No? Go read it! Yes? Read on!

So the secret about this story that I've been keeping from you... is incredibly exciting! At least, _I'm_ excited about it!

Okay, okay, I'll stop blabbing on and just tell you.

...

_There will be a sequel. _


	38. Chapter 37

A/N: Two chapters to go after this one! + the epilogue. I'm so excited! How 'bout you guys? If you're excited please review! haha.

Oh also, I've noticed that when talking about infantrymen I sometimes write with a capital 'I' and sometimes with a lowercase 'i'. I simply cannot make my mind up and I'm sorry if you've noticed and it has annoyed you. It just happens... and to be honest I don't really care. Anyway. Random blabbing is over and you can read the chapter now =]

* * *

It was midday when Kayli woke up. She was surprised that she'd slept in so late and now only had a few hours or so left to explore Corel before having to leave. As her mother always used to tell her, if she slept late it meant she had needed it. It seemed logical to Kayli since today had been the first day since Liam had shown up at ShinRa that she hadn't needed to get up and go to classes right away. Her body must have decided to take advantage of the situation and catch up on some rest that it needed in the aftermath of everything that had happened.

As she swung her legs over the edge of the bed the world spun and she quickly stopped what she was doing, staring down at the floor and gripping her head. She'd probably just moved a bit too fast.

However, as she sat there and realised she was now starting to feel sick as well, she assumed it wasn't from sitting up too fast. Her head continued to pound and even when she closed her eyes she felt like she was swaying from side to side. A slight groan escaped her lips and she slowly eased herself back down onto the bed.

How had she not noticed as soon as she woke up that she felt terrible? Her nose was blocked, too! It felt as though she'd been run over by a truck three times.

The sound of the door opening came to her attention and she cracked her eyes open to see Jensen walking in. Great! She was even in bed longer than him and he was_ injured!_

"Um, Roy?" he said cautiously, approaching her bed slowly.

"Yeah?" she croaked and suddenly found that her throat felt like sandpaper as well as everything else that had already gone wrong.

"Zack wanted me to tell you that if you don't get up soon you won't have any time to explore Corel at all. He wants to leave sooner than planned since we're not actually doing anything." Jensen explained.

"Tell him," Kayli paused to swallow, trying to ease the pain in her throat slightly. It didn't work. "Tell him I'd like to leave as soon as possible as well."

"Are you okay?" Jensen asked curiously then, frowning as he looked down at her. She had closed her eyes again since her head really didn't like the light coming in but she still felt terrible and almost didn't have enough energy to answer him. Speaking didn't seem to be a good idea for her body either.

"Sick," was all she said, letting out another groan and rolling away from Jensen. Thankfully he didn't ask for any more details, only turning and walking towards the door again.

"I'll let Zack know."

It felt like a million years before the door opened again and voices reached Kayli's ears. She could hear Cloud and Jinx talking as well as the voices of some of the other infantrymen, but she wasn't focusing on them since her head still pounded. Then she heard the clomp of boots approaching her bed and opened her eyes slightly to see Zack looking down at her with his hands on his hips.

"So," he said. "You're sick?"

She nodded, beginning to cough. It felt as though her throat was being torn apart and she wished she could stop but there was a _tickle_ and it wasn't going away!

"We're heading out now," Zack informed her, reaching down for her bag and weapon. "I called earlier this morning to see if we could get picked up before the set time but still allowed for enough time so everyone could explore. I assume you'll want to leave as soon as possible as well?"

"Yes, please," Kayli managed to say in between coughs.

Zack nodded and turned away, throwing her stuff on his bed before going around and helping everyone else pack their stuff away and get ready to leave.

"Hey, Kayli," Cloud said quietly, having moved over now that all his stuff was ready to go. "Are you okay?"

"Sick," she said a second time, glad that her coughs had eased somewhat now.

"Yuck," Cloud commented. "At least we're leaving now."

"Yeah," Kayli sighed. "Do you think there's... materia for something like this?"

"Probably," Cloud shrugged to show that he didn't actually know for sure. "ShinRa's got all sorts of things and you never hear of SOLDIERs getting sick, do you? They must have some way to heal them so they can keep going out on missions and stuff."

"Then I guess it depends on whether I'm important enough," Kayli chuckled, wincing as it hurt her head.

"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "I'm sure you'll get better soon either way."

"Thanks."

With the conversation over, Cloud went back over to his things and picked them all up, preparing to leave. Since everyone else had their things together as well now, Kayli decided it was time to try again at standing up.

Ever-so-slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Then she eased her legs off the side of the bed again and cautiously stood up. So far, so good. She felt really dizzy standing, but at least she hadn't fallen over like she first feared she might.

"Time to go!" Zack announced, grabbing his stuff and Kayli's before heading out the door. Everyone followed after him but Cloud stayed back a bit to help Kayli out since she still wasn't very confident on her own two feet.

It was good to be back in the helicopter and Kayli closed her eyes again once sitting down, leaning her head back and trying to get some sleep. Hopefully if she could sleep on the way back to ShinRa she'd be feeling a bit better when they arrived and wouldn't need quite as long to recover from whatever was making her feel like this.

Thankfully no one tried to talk to her and, despite the sound of others talking amongst themselves and the sound of the helicopter blades, she was soon asleep. Fortunately this meant she wouldn't have to be shifting around uncomfortably for the duration of the flight as she would have been if she was awake for it. On the other hand, it meant the flight felt too short and Kayli was being gently shaken by Cloud in what felt like a few minutes after she closed her eyes.

When she and Cloud stepped off the helicopter, they both looked sick. Kayli had forgotten about Cloud's dislike for flying – and, apparently, motion sickness – but now she remembered as she saw his green-tinged face.

The other infantrymen that Kayli still didn't know headed off almost right away and then she was left with Cloud, Jensen, Jinx and Zack. Cloud was doing his best to keep it all together, Jensen was fiddling with his pirate eye patch, Jinx was watching Kayli with narrowed eyebrows and Zack was pulling his bag out from the helicopter to dump it on the ground.

"Get over to the infirmary," Zack said as he turned to face the two that were sick. "As soon as you can."

"Yes, Sir," Cloud said, swallowing continuously as if trying to keep his food down. Kayli wanted to make him feel better somehow but was too preoccupied with her headache and tired limbs.

Picking up her bag somehow, Kayli began walking off with Cloud. She heard Jensen and Jinx muttering behind them quietly for a moment before suddenly Jensen jogged to catch up and walked beside her.

"I'm gonna come," he said as she glanced across at him. "Just so they can check on my eye... well it's not really an eye any more but you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Kayli nodded, then sighed sleepily.

"What's up with Jinx?" Cloud asked, one of his hands on his stomach and his eyes fixed on the ground as he walked.

"What about him?" Jensen asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder briefly before looking over at Cloud again.

"He hasn't stopped staring at me and Kayli since we got in the helicopter to come home." Cloud explained with a small shrug. It was obvious that small movement were all he could handle without making himself feel worse.

"Ah," Jensen said, straightening slightly at what Cloud had said. "It's nothing."

"Come on," Cloud said, lifting his eyes from the ground to look over at the other boy. "Now you _have_ to tell me!"

"No really," Jensen said uncomfortably. "I don't think I should-"

"But if it's got something to do with me and Roy," Cloud cut in. "We should be allowed to know."

Jensen was silent for a moment as he thought it over. He supposed it wasn't _too_ bad, but he still didn't want them to get angry at him or Jinx for it if they were wrong. Part of him also didn't want to tell them in case Jinx was right.

"Jinx has noticed..." Jensen trailed off and folded his arms, changing his mind and starting to chew on his lip.

"It can't be that hard to say," Cloud teased with a small grin.

"Okay fine." Jensen breathed in deeply. "Jinx noticed you two have been pretty close to each other, like with touching and stuff, and he thinks Roy's cheating on Davis."

Kayli almost stopped walking at those words. When had she touched Cloud? She didn't remember doing anything like that!

"Um..." Cloud said awkwardly, his face bright red as he looked at Kayli desperately for help.

"I haven't-" Kayli stopped, frowning as she tried to remember what happened whenever she spoke to Cloud. Realisation slowly dawned on her then, as she realised that she tended to touch his arm or shoulder when they spoke. It didn't mean they were together, though! Maybe it was just something she did because she was a girl?

"Sorry," Jensen mumbled, genuinely feeling that way as he watched his feet. "I know it's none of my business."

"I'm not gay!" Cloud finally managed to say, deciding to save himself since Kayli still appeared half lost in her own thoughts.

"Okay." Jensen was still watching his feet and didn't look interested in continuing the conversation at all.

"And Roy's not cheating on Davis," Cloud said, glancing at Kayli with a frown before looking at Jensen again. "He's just like that."

"I said okay."

Silence came over them and they walked the rest of the way to the infirmary without talking at all. Reaching the room, they all entered and headed over to the medical staff. Jensen walked over to a doctor who had treated his eye and Cloud and Kayli were left to explain their problems to the rest of the staff.

"Actually," Cloud said when he was asked what was wrong with him. "I'm fine now. It was just a bit of motion sickness but it's gone."

The staff turned their attention to Kayli and she quickly explained that she felt terrible, allowing them to diagnose her from all her symptoms. Cloud hung around for a moment as she was sent to bed and then left, heading back to his room quickly.

He had things to talk to the others about before Kayli got back.

* * *

Two days later Kayli was released from the infirmary and headed back to her shared room. She felt great, now! Her headache, sore throat and blocked nose were all gone. She didn't feel tired any more either and was so glad she'd been able to rest in the infirmary for two days. She'd definitely needed it.

The corridors were fairly quiet as she walked and she decided to call her parents before she got to her room. She had called them once before leaving on the mission since she now had to call once a week and decided now was a good time, especially because the day was significant.

Pulling out her PHS, she dialled her home phone number and waited, walking slower than before.

"Hello, Mrs Peters speaking," came the voice on the other end once someone picked up. Kayli smiled.

"Hey Mum."

There was a gasp and then, "Oh Kayli! You beat us to it!"

"To what?" Kayli laughed.

"Calling!" her mother chuckled. "Happy birthday, honey."

"Thanks," Kayli said, feeling incredibly glad that her parents now knew where she was and she was able to call like this without getting into an awkward conversation. She knew she should have been more honest with them in the beginning but she couldn't change that now.

"How has your day been?" her mother asked.

"Oh, alright so far," Kayli said vaguely, choosing not to tell of her visit to the infirmary since she didn't want her mother to worry. She was fine now, anyway, so it didn't matter.

"I hope the rest of it is great," her mother said sincerely. "Hold on, your father wants to speak to you."

Kayli waited patiently before hearing her father's voice.

"Hey, happy birthday!"

"Thanks Dad," Kayli grinned. "Miss me?"

"Insanely," he confirmed. "Are you a SOLDIER yet?"

Kayli laughed and replied, "No Dad, I haven't even taken the exam yet."

"Don't worry," her father said warmly. "There's no way they'll reject you."

Kayli sighed happily and then continued talking to him for a bit, telling about the mission she'd recently been on but making sure to tell it in a safe way so that it didn't sound like she'd been in any danger at all.

When she reached her room door, she told him she had to go and said goodbye, also saying goodbye to her mother who quickly got on the phone again before finally hanging up and putting it back in her pocket.

Stretching slightly, she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome back and happy birthday!"

Before she could react, Davis had swept her up into a hug and she laughed, hugging him back. Looking over his shoulder she could see balloons and frowned, wondering where on earth they'd come from. Cloud and Alec also stood behind Davis, grinning.

"Thanks, guys," Kayli grinned, pulling back from the hug. Suddenly she frowned and tilted her head, staring at Davis in confusion. He raised an eyebrow at her and she folded her arms. "You grew."

"Ah yes," Davis chuckled. "That happens."

"But it's _my_ birthday, not yours!" Kayli whined.

"I'll keep it in mind for next year that you want to grow taller," Davis teased with a smile. "Anyway, how old are you now? I forgot."

"Fifteen!" Kayli said happily.

"Sweet!" Davis said.

"Come on," Alec interrupted. "Open your presents!"

Kayli looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and folded her arms before glancing around the room.

"Presents?"

Grinning cheekily, Alec bent down to reach under his bed and pulled out two wrapped gifts of different sizes. One was fairly small and the other was a medium size.

"This one's from me and Cloud," Alec said as he passed her the medium-sized gift before adding, "And Gemma."

Eyes lighting up, Kayli quickly unwrapped it to see what they'd gotten her. She hadn't been expecting this at all! She'd only mentioned her birthday very briefly, and that was a while ago! She had no idea when _their_ birthdays were!

Finally the object was revealed and Kayli laughed. "Water-proof make-up. Thanks, guys."

"There should be a note from Gemma in there too," Alec said and Kayli opened the box to find a slip of paper which had been carefully folded and placed in there.

Reading it, Kayli smiled.

_Hey Kayli! Happy Birthday!  
I thought I'd buy this for you since Alec tells me you have a make-up problem every swimming lesson. Don't take it the wrong way! Anyway, I've made sure everything you need is in here so use it the same way I taught you to use the other stuff and you should be fine.  
Have a great day!  
Love, Gemma_

"Nice," Kayli said as she looked up again, closing the box and smiling around at her friends.

"This one..." Alec passed the smaller gift across to Davis who then turned to Kayli with a grin.

"This one's from me and Rex."

As Kayli took the present from Davis, she giggled. It didn't take her long to unwrap it and she found herself looking down at a necklace. It was a plain silver chain with a rectangular pendant that had letters carved into it. Kayli squinted and brought it closer to her face before gasping in excitement.

It read, '_SOLDIER_'.

"Thank you so much!" Kayli exclaimed, hugging Davis tightly. "Is Rex still in the infirmary? I want to go thank him!"

"Yeah, he is," Davis nodded, frowning slightly.

"Is he okay?"

"I hope so. He just seems so sad all the time now," Davis sighed. "He might not be allowed to become a Turk."

"They told him that?" Kayli exclaimed, horrified.

"He said they're not telling him anything yet, which doesn't sound too good." Davis folded his arms and Kayli frowned.

"I'll go see him now, then," she said. "Unless you have anything else planned first?"

"No, you can go," Davis grinned.

"Okay, see you all later! Thanks so much for the presents!" Kayli quickly put her things in her bag under her bed and then headed to the door, leaving the room and making her way back towards the infirmary.


	39. Chapter 38

A/N: Well, there's only one proper chapter left after this one. The end has really come quickly, hasn't it? Hmm. I always thought it would take a million years to reach the end of this story. At least I still have the sequel to amuse me! ^^

Also, I've added some A/N at the bottom as well because there's some more stuff I want to say but you need to read the chapter first. Enjoy!

* * *

The room was silent as Rex sat on his bed and tentatively prodded his stump of a left shoulder. It was still wrapped in bandages although he'd been told that today someone would be coming to take them off since the wound was almost entirely healed now.

It didn't hurt when he touched it, although it made him feel strange. For some reason he felt as though he was dreaming still and that this wasn't even happening to him at all. Thankfully that allowed him to stare at his shoulder and press against it without freaking out, since he half-believed he was going to wake up in a minute and find both his arms in-tact.

The door opened then, catching Rex off-guard, and he looked up like a child caught doing something wrong. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw it was his doctor and not his psychiatrist.

"How are you feeling, today?" the doctor asked, standing in front of the boy with a calm smile on his face.

"Fine," Rex replied with a small shrug.

"That's good. Do you know what's going to be happening today, Rex?"

Rex nodded and glanced down at his left shoulder again. He'd finally get to see what it looked like without anything covering it. The thought made him sick.

"Are you ready?" Rex's doctor asked slowly, watching his patient carefully. "It's okay if you don't want me to do it right away."

"No, it's fine. Just do it." Rex shook his head and looked away from his shoulder again, taking a deep breath to prepare himself. As the doctor waited patiently, Rex then proceeded to take his shirt off. The bandage wound around his chest to keep it in place and would be impossible to get off with his shirt in the way. The doctor slowly nodded and then stepped forward, reaching out to take hold of the bandage and beginning to unravel it. It was a fairly slow process, although it was over in no time at all.

The doctor stepped back. Rex gulped.

There was a moment of absolutely no movement before Rex slowly turned his head to look down at his shoulder. His semi-dreamlike state vanished as his eyes landed on the healed flesh. It was real. He could see it.

He was shocked to see that its shape was almost flawless, curving around perfectly, and wondered for a moment if that was the effect of some materia which had been used. At least he didn't have to look at a deformed shape for the rest of his life.

"What do you think?" his doctor asked quietly.

"Um..."

Cautiously, Rex lifted his right hand and brought it over to trace his fingers over the new skin. It was so strange to be faced with the full reality of his situation and suddenly Rex felt his chest constrict. Letting his arm fall down again, Rex dropped his head and squeezed his eyes shut as the tears came.

"Hey, it's okay," the doctor said, taking a step forward to lay a comforting hand on Rex's right shoulder. "You can do this."

"H-how much do prosthetics cost? Please, just tell me! I have to-"

"Rex," his doctor interrupted. "I have something to tell you."

"What, now there's a law that no one under the age of eighteen can have prosthetics?" Rex asked bitterly, wiping at his face with his hand.

"I spoke to Tseng, the leader of the Turks, yesterday. I spoke to him about you." His doctor paused as Rex slowly lifted his head to look up at him. "I told him I thought you were doing well and that only having one arm would have absolutely no effect on the way you performed, should you still want to become a Turk."

"What did he say?" Rex asked anxiously, although he was trying to hide his emotion.

"He said he trusted my opinion," the doctor continued, now grinning. "He said he'd allow you to continue aiming to become a Turk even though, before our talk, he had been going to say no."

"Are you serious?" Rex gasped. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," his doctor chuckled. "Would you be willing to listen to some advice now before I leave?"

"I guess," Rex shrugged again and waited.

"Well, I'd really like you to try your hardest to accept your situation for now and learn to do things with only one arm. Hear me out, please. Since you can still become a Turk as long as you pass the exams, I suggest you wait until then to think about prosthetics again. Once you're a Turk, ShinRa will pay for your prosthetics and the cost won't matter any more. Until then... Rex, I do believe you can adapt to this."

Rex let his doctors words sink in and looked down at his lap. Could he really wait until he became a Turk to get a prosthetic arm? It seemed like the only thing he _could_ do, though, since the cost was apparently so large. Besides, he could take the Turk exam as soon as he was out of the infirmary! He might not pass straight away, but at least he'd be more prepared for the next time he decided to try.

Perhaps obtaining a prosthetic arm wouldn't be that far off in the future, after all.

Finding himself grinning, Rex looked up at his doctor. "Thank you, I'll try my hardest."

"I'm glad to hear it," came the honest reply. "Can you try to get along with your psychiatrist a bit better as well now, do you think?"

Rex chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, I'll try not to be so annoying."

"Good," his doctor said. "Then if you're alright I have another patient to see to."

"Wait a second," Rex said. "Am I allowed to leave too, now?"

"You'll be allowed to leave tomorrow," his doctor told him. "We just need to keep you here an extra day to see how your shoulder copes with being free from the bandage."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

Rex shifted up on his bed so that his back was resting against the back wall and he glanced down at the books Davis' had left with him a few days ago as the doctor left. He didn't feel like learning anything now, but if he still had a chance to become a Turk he needed to make the most of the opportunity.

Picking up one of the books, he awkwardly positioned it on his lap and tried to find the page he was up to. It was difficult flicking through with only one hand but he was determined to succeed and managed to find the page fairly quickly.

Starting to read, he got through about ten pages before there was another knock on the door and he looked up, seeing Kayli enter.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked as she approached him.

"I'm fine," Rex said with a smile. "Happy birthday!"

"You remembered!" Kayli laughed and moved to sit on the chair that was in the room, placing it right across from Rex. "Wow, your shoulder looks great. It's healed so well."

"Thanks," Rex swallowed nervously, glancing at his shoulder self-consciously before looking back up at Kayli. She was smiling encouragingly and it made him feel better to know that he had such good friends who didn't care that he only had one arm now. "Did Davis give you the present?" he asked then in order to change the subject.

"Yeah, I love it!" Kayli nodded enthusiastically. "It's so cool!"

"Gemma helped pick it out," Rex grinned. "She and Davis went looking for it the day you left on your mission."

"Really?" Kayli shook her head in amusement and then jumped as she felt something vibrate in her pocket. Pulling out her PHS, her eyebrows shot up and she laughed again. "Speaking of Gemma!"

Rex smiled and settled against the wall to wait as Kayli answered her friend.

"Hello?"

"Kayli! Happy birthday!" Gemma exclaimed and Kayli frowned at the tone of voice she was greeted with. Gemma sounded incredibly tense.

"Thanks. Is something wrong?" Kayli asked.

"Pup! He's going nuts! Is Rex around? Can I speak to him?" Gemma pleaded and then Kayli realised she could actually hear barking from the other end of the phone.

"Why did you call me if you want to talk to Rex?" Kayli asked, shrugging when Rex glanced up at her.

"To say happy birthday! Well also because you're on speed-dial and he isn't yet." Gemma sighed.

"Yet?" Kayli teased.

"Shut up! Is he there or not?" Gemma said, pretending to be angry.

"Yeah, yeah." Kayli passed the PHS to Rex and he took it, lifting it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rex! How are you?"

Kayli stood up as Rex said, "I'm alright, what about you?" and gestured to him to let him know she was going to wait outside. He went a bit red but nodded, watching her slip out the door silently.

"So what's up?" Rex asked then after Gemma replied with "Fine!" to his previous question.

"Actually..." Gemma paused and Rex heard barking. "I'm having some problems with Pup."

"What happened? Is he alright?" Rex asked, frowning.

"He's fine! But I don't know what to do with him when I'm not available to take him on walks. I still have other things to do but it's like he requires _constant_ attention! What do I do?" Gemma asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Rex chuckled.

"Well you gave him to me! Is there anything I can do to make him calm down? I've already taken him for two walks today but he won't stop running around and jumping on the furniture! My parents are going to kill me if I don't stop him somehow!"

"I had him for like, two minutes! I don't have a clue how to stop him!" Rex said, frowning.

"Didn't Zack tell you anything?" Gemma pleaded.

"Nothing." Rex said.

Gemma sighed loudly and then Rex heard a clatter, loud barking and then Gemma's faint voice yelling at Pup to 'stop', 'sit' and 'stay'.

"He doesn't do anything I want him to!" Gemma suddenly complained, voice right at the phone again.

"Well I can't help you!" Rex retorted.

"Have you ever had a dog before? Any of your friends had a dog? You have to know _something_ I can do!" Gemma continued desperately.

"I don't! Okay?" Rex said, becoming frustrated.

"Absolutely noth-"

"Nothing! I'm sorry!" Rex shouted.

There was silence for a moment as they both just thought about what had happened. Gemma was regretting being so forceful and Rex was wishing he hadn't yelled at her. He sighed quietly and the silence stretched on, neither one of them speaking.

Not knowing what to do, Rex found himself looking down at his left shoulder and then remembering everything his doctor had told him about becoming a Turk and getting a prosthetic arm.

"Gemma?" he said softly.

"Yeah?"

"D'youwan'bem'girlfriend?"

Rex felt faint as he waited for an answer and hoped desperately he wouldn't be rejected. This was the first time he'd ever gotten enough courage to ask out someone he really liked. In the past all he really did was observe and appreciate.

"Um," Gemma laughed lightly. "You're gonna have to speak slower than that."

Rex closed his eyes and groaned. "Do you... want to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh my gosh! Yes!" Gemma suddenly screamed before speaking quieter and saying, "Sorry!"

Rex let out a relieved chuckled.

"Wow. I have a boyfriend," Gemma giggled.

"And I've got a girlfriend!" Rex added. "It feels so surreal."

"Tell me about it!" Gemma agreed.

Rex paused then as something came to the front of his mind and he looked down at his lap, frowning slightly.

"You don't mind that I've only got one arm, do you?" he asked, so softly that Gemma had to wait a few more seconds just to let her mind work out what he'd said.

"Of course not!" she said as soon as she realised what he was asking. "Rex, I wouldn't care if you had _no_ arms!"

"Really?" Rex asked, shocked by Gemma's words. When she responded with a confident yes he felt himself relax again and smiled slightly, amazed that his entire day had turned great in such a short amount of time.

The two of them continued talking then and Rex's good mood only continued to improve. Rex managed to think of a few suggestions for Gemma to try in order to calm down Pup and after a few more minutes Gemma told him that there was success! It seemed all Pup had wanted... was to watch TV.

After they spoke a bit longer, Kayli re-entered the room and grinned at Rex, food hanging out of her mouth that told of her visit to the cafeteria. She threw him a bread roll and it landed in his lap. He thanked her with a smile.

"I should go," Gemma sighed. "I'm going to have such a big phone bill at the end of the month."

"Alright," Rex chuckled. "I'll talk to you later then. Do you want to talk to Kayli again before you go?"

Gemma agreed and Rex handed the PHS over to Kayli, who hurriedly swallowed so that she could talk.

"Hey."

"Hey," Gemma said. "Stay out of trouble, okay? If I hear that you've gotten yourself hurt or something I am going to hunt you down just so that I can yell at you."

"Uh, yes Mum." Kayli laughed.

"Seriously though," Gemma said. "Keep safe."

"I will," Kayli promised.

"Good. I'd better go then. Talk to you later!"

"Bye, Gem!"

Hanging up, Kayli put her PHS back in her pocket and then grinned at Rex who was now eating his bread roll.

"You look a lot happier than you did when I left," she commented.

Rex blushed and ducked his head.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened or do I have to sit here, blissfully ignorant?" Kayli asked.

"I asked Gemma out."

"Are you serious?" Kayli squealed, beaming and moving forward to hug Rex before stepping back again. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," Rex said, still a bit embarrassed.

"I bet that really made your day look up," Kayli said.

"Yeah," Rex nodded. "But guess what else happened today!"

"Other than the unveiling of your shoulder?" Kayli raised an eyebrow and Rex rolled his eyes before nodding.

"My doctor spoke to Tseng, of the Turks!" Rex exclaimed.

"Whoa!" Kayli gasped.

"Yeah!" Rex agreed. "And he said I can still become a Turk! Tseng was going to say no but my doctor told him he thought I could do it and that made Tseng change his mind."

"That's great! Davis mentioned something about you not being able to be a Turk," Kayli said. "I'm glad you can still do it, though!"

"Me too."

Kayli sat down on the chair again, feeling much more than just content. Everything seemed to be working out despite all the problems that had been encountered since joining ShinRa. She felt like leaping around the room and screaming out her happiness but decided against it. She'd probably hurt herself in the process and then Gemma would yell at her.

"Well," she said then. "Are you gonna take the Turk exam as soon as-"

"I get out? Yes." Rex finished, grinning cheekily.

"I'm so excited, now!" Kayli admitted, biting her lip to try and keep her joy contained. Rex just laughed at her and then she poked her tongue out at him.

"I get out tomorrow, actually," he said innocently, pretending he'd only just remembered. Kayli gasped.

"My excitement just doubled!"

"You're nuts, Kayli," Rex shook his head. "Hey, when are you gonna take the SOLDIER exam?"

Kayli frowned, only just thinking about that. The sooner she got in the sooner her brother's dream was fulfilled, but she wanted to make sure she was absolutely ready first.

"Maybe in a few days or something," she shrugged. "I think I'll wait until I've attended a few more lessons before trying."

"Sounds like a good idea," Rex agreed. "Don't worry, you'll get in."

"My dad said that too! But how can you be so sure?" Kayli laughed.

Rex hesitated before shrugging. "You're just so stubborn in everything you do! I mean, to start with you decided to pretend to be a guy just so that you could get into ShinRa. Then when you were captured in Wutai you managed to stay alive. I've seen you in classes and you always work so hard. Trust me, they'll want someone like you as a SOLDIER."

"Wow," Kayli breathed. "Thanks, Rex."

"You're welcome," he grinned. "How do you think I'll go with the Turk exam?"

Laughing, Kayli said, "You'll be great!"

"Are you sure?" Rex said, feigning worry and lifting his right hand to his forehead in pretend distress.

"Of course!" Kayli rolled her eyes. "But we'll miss you when you leave and join the Turk division."

"No you won't," Rex smiled. "The kid with one arm will seem like a distant memory once you're a SOLDIER, going out on a new mission every day."

"Oh, come here you idiot," Kayli shook her head, standing and pulling Rex up as well so she could hug him. "Thanks for being such an awesome friend."

Rex was shocked into stillness for a moment before hugging her back with his one arm, secretly thankful for the show of affection. He needed it after everything that had happened with losing his arm. The mission that it had happened on was so long ago and yet here he was, still trapped in an infirmary room. At least he'd be out the next day.

"You're a great friend, too," he told her honestly.

Just then, the door burst open and Kayli pulled back so that she could turn and see who had entered. Jinx stood there, eyes wide and mouth open so wide Kayli wouldn't be surprised if his jaw broke.

"Jinx, don't be an idiot!" she exclaimed, taking a step towards him. He stepped back quickly and raised his hands in defence.

"What?" Rex asked, confused as to what was going on as he looked from Kayli to Jinx and back again.

"Jinx is convinced that when I touch another guy it means I'm cheating on Davis. But that's not true!" Kayli snapped.

"I never said that!" Jinx retorted.

"No," Kayli agreed. "Jensen did."

"I'm gonna kill him!" Jinx growled.

"Would you relax? Cloud practically forced Jensen to tell. And I'm never going to cheat on Davis! Cloud and Rex are my friends but nothing more, okay?" Kayli folded her arms angrily.

"Are you sure?" Jinx asked, still wary.

"Yes!" Kayli said firmly.

"Does that mean if you and I become closer friends you're gonna touch my arm when we talk? Because I've noticed you do that a lot." Jinx said.

Kayli felt the situation was so hopeless that it was funny and she suddenly found herself laughing. "Jinx, I won't touch you if you don't want me to, okay?"

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"Because you're hilarious! Anyway, I'm going to go find my boyfriend again now so you can have fun talking to Rex."

Kayli stalked past Jinx, snorting at his lack of a Mohawk as she went, and continued out into the corridor to make her way back to her room before her first class of the day. Which, funnily enough, was swimming.

She smiled as she walked and began to hum. So far her birthday had been great, what with being let out of the infirmary, getting two presents and hearing all of Rex's good news as well. She wondered what the rest of the day would have in store for her and knew that no matter what happened, she was just happy that the beginning of the day had been good.

* * *

A/N: Alrighty. Firstly, I just want to say that when I started this chapter I knew it was going to be mainly about Rex so guess what I did? I wrote a whole page of this chapter with only one hand! AND I SERIOUSLY CANNOT BELIEVE I MADE IT THAT FAR! After that I quit because my shoulder was hurting, although I don't know why... sympathy pain? lol.

Anyway, also, when I wrote about Rex opening his book to read it I did also try doing that with one hand to see what it was like. So I completely understand Rex's pain right now (well, not completely... I'm not about to chop my arm off for the sake of getting authenticity into the story...).

Ahem.

The other thing I wanted to say concerns the sequel. See, I don't actually have a name for it yet. **And here's my plan. **Once the epilogue is posted I am going to be holding a contest for the title of the sequel! More details and stuff will be submitted with the epilogue, but until the contest ends and the title is decided, the sequel will be called 'Untitled' and there will be a link so you can go there and add it to your alert lists right away so that when I put up the first chapter, you'll get it right away! Yay!

If you're confused about anything, feel free to ask me any questions etc.! And a review would make me very very very happy =] No, seriously. It would. I love getting reviews.


	40. Chapter 39

A/N: The final 'proper' chapter of Roy. There is still an epilogue to go after this chapter... but since I've now finished writing the story it feels like it's over. I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have and please, please, please read the sequel! It's gonna be great and you'll find out so much! Hehe.

Also, reviews make me very happy! I'm sure you already knew that... lol. But if you've never reviewed before, take the opportunity to do so now! I reply to every review and it makes me so very excited!

Don't forget to be prepared for the contest I'll tell you more about at the end of the epilogue... =D

Like last time, there are some more A/N at the end that I thought were needed.

* * *

Late in the afternoon the next day, Kayli was heading back to her room after a gruelling sword-fighting session with Brawn when her PHS beeped with a message. She sighed and and pulled it from her pocket, rounding the last corner and making her way to her door as she opened the message up to read it.

Entering the room, her eyebrows were raised in surprise. Davis looked up as she went over to her bed and wondered what had her so intrigued as she dumped her helmet, eyes still glued to the PHS.

"I think he knows," Kayli mumbled, looking up from her PHS to Davis. He raised an eyebrow questioningly and she bit her lip nervously. "I have to go see Lazard."

"What?" Davis stood up immediately.

"It might be for something completely different, though!" Kayli said quickly. "Maybe he _doesn't_ know!"

"Is there anything else in the message? A reason why you have to go see him or something like that?" Davis asked, taking the PHS from her and reading it for himself. Sadly, all it said was that she had to report to Lazard's office as soon as possible for something important.

"Don't worry," Kayli said. "I'll put up a fight if he does tell me I have to leave."

"Do you want me to come?" Davis asked, handing her the PHS again. He was worried and couldn't hide it no matter how hard he tried.

"No, don't bother," Kayli shook her head. "Maybe I can drag Sephiroth into it and get the focus off me onto him instead?"

"Okay..." Davis wasn't convinced.

"I'll be fine. Rex told me yesterday that ShinRa needed someone like me as a SOLDIER so I'll be sure to tell Lazard how awesome I am in case he hadn't noticed yet." Kayli grinned cheekily and Davis rolled his eyes.

"Alright. I'll see you back here then once you win the argument."

Kayli giggled, nodded, and walked out the door again.

On her way to Lazard's office, she met up with Jensen who was also out walking through the corridor. She had to admit she was tense from being sent to Lazard's office since she had worked so hard to fulfil her brother's dream and hadn't gotten a chance to take the SOLDIER exam yet, but she did her best to appear calm in front of Jensen as the two of them began to talk.

"Don't look now," Jensen said after a moment. "But I think Jinx is following me."

Kayli fought the urge to look over her shoulder, but couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face. "Why doesn't he just walk _with_ you?"

"Well, he didn't get a message." Jensen shrugged.

Kayli frowned and glanced across at Jensen curiously. "A message?"

"Yeah," Jensen sighed and looked down at his feet nervously for a second. "I have to see Lazard. Dunno what it's about though."

"So do I!" Kayli exclaimed, eyes wide. If Jensen had been called to see Lazard as well it must mean that he _didn't _know and she was still safe! This was brilliant! The relief that she felt was so incredibly that she couldn't believe she'd been so worried in the first place without fully realising it.

"Any idea what it's about?" Jensen asked her.

"No, none!" she laughed, earning a weird look from Jensen.

"Well, I hope they're not going to tell me I'm not allowed to go on any more missions for a while. I did okay in Corel, didn't I?" Jensen asked, turning to Kayli for reassurance.

"Yeah, you did!" Kayli nodded sincerely. "You acted as if only being able to see out of one eye didn't affect you at all."

"Thanks." Jensen smiled and looked ahead of him again.

"I wonder if anyone else has been called to see Lazard as well," Kayli thought aloud. "And if so, who? What for?"

"Only one way to find out, I suppose."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they continued through the ShinRa building and finally found themselves at the door to Lazard's office. They glanced at each other, shrugged, and then Jensen knocked on the door.

"Come in," came the response from inside. Jensen turned the door handle and walked in with Kayli right behind him.

Lazard sat at his desk, a lot of papers lying on front of him that his eyes were wandering over. He wasn't the only person in the room, however, and Kayli looked around to see Sephiroth, Brawn and her guns instructor all standing at the side of the room. She barely had time to take this in when two other infantrymen entered from behind.

"Good, you're all here," Lazard said, leaving his papers as he stood and walked around his desk to the front. "I have something very important to discuss with each and every one of you and I would appreciate it if you all listen attentively and give me your full cooperation."

Reaching back to pick some of the papers from his desk, he flicked through them slowly for a moment as he checked something. All the infantrymen were nervous as they waited to find out what was going on.

It had to be important. The _General _was here too!

"First things first," Lazard said after another pause. He turned to face the three men standing at the side of the room and addressed them. "Are these the four infantrymen you meant?"

The three men turned their gazes to the boys and scrutinised them for a moment before each confirming that they were the right ones.

"Good," Lazard turned back to the boys. "Then I'll get straight down to business and tell you why you've been called here."

Kayli had to force herself to breathe slowly and nervously wiped the palms of her hands on her pants. Had they done something wrong and were being punished? She couldn't remember doing anything that ShinRa wouldn't approve of, though, apart from pretending to be a guy. There was still a small doubt in the back of her mind that told her she was going to be kicked out, but she did her best to ignore it. Besides, if that was going to happen the other three infantrymen wouldn't be here right now.

Unless they were all girls in disguise as well. Kayli actually snickered at the thought.

"Is something funny, Peters?" Lazard asked, narrowing his eyes suddenly.

"Um," Kayli cleared her throat. "No, Sir. Sorry, Sir."

Lazard continued to frown at her for a moment before leaning back against his desk casually. "The four of you have each been recommended for SOLDIER. Your instructors have seen you performing well in classes and wished for me to know of your progress. If you choose to take the SOLDIER exam and you pass, you will then have the choice of being mentored by another SOLDIER should they also accept the responsibilities that come with that."

Silence descended on the room and Kayli found it impossible to speak.

"We've been-" One of the other infantrymen was spluttering, as shocked as she was apparently. "Recommended for SOLDIER?"

"That's correct." Lazard nodded.

"Seriously?" Kayli managed to ask, thankful that her voice sounded fairly steady.

Lazard turned his gaze on her again and she could see a twinkle in his eyes which made her nervous. "Yes, Kayli, you have."

It took her a moment for what he had said to sink in. In fact, if Jensen hadn't frowned and looked over at her in confusion she probably wouldn't have thought anything of it at all, but he had and that had alerted her to the problem.

Lazard had called her Kayli.

So that was it? He told her she'd been recommended for SOLDIER, got her hopes up, and then revealed to her that he knew her gender so she'd have to go home? In that instant, she felt an intense hatred for him.

"You're a girl?" Jensen asked quietly and hesitantly.

"Yeah, I am." Kayli confirmed it while glaring at Lazard. She couldn't believe he didn't look even _slightly_ guilty about what he'd done.

The other two infantrymen gasped at what Kayli said and mumbled to each other about it, but it wasn't their response which made her jump in surprise and spin around.

It was Jinx.

Jensen had been correct in thinking that the green-haired boy was following him earlier in the corridor. In fact, Jinx had followed all the way to Lazard's office and then proceeded to hide outside where he could listen in to the conversation and hear what was going on. When he had heard Jensen's soft enquiry and the answer that followed, he had let out an incredibly loud shriek and leaped through the door.

"You're a _girl_?" Jinx yelled at her. Facing him, all Kayli could do was nod. "And you let me believe you were gay? You freaked me out and made me self-conscious whenever I was around you and you're a_ girl?_"

"I'm sorry, Jinx," Kayli said. "I couldn't risk you telling anyone."

"I'm training to be a Turk! Secrets are my speciality!" Jinx protested.

"So what? It doesn't matter now, anyway." Kayli turned back to Lazard and squared her shoulders, ignoring Sephiroth's stare from where he stood.

"Miss Peters," Lazard began but Kayli firmly shook her head.

"Sir, just because I'm a girl doesn't change anything. The fact that I've been recommended for SOLDIER should tell you that! I'm just as competent as any other grunt and I believe I'll be an asset to you if you allow me to join. Please Sir, you can't kick me out when I've come so close."

Kayli swallowed nervously then and waited for Lazard to respond. Her nerves were taking over her now and she had to look down at the floor because she was so worried that she would be literally thrown from the building for deceiving everyone about her gender. She'd completely forgotten to implicate Sephiroth.

"Everyone except for Peters is dismissed," Lazard said.

Kayli closed her eyes as Jensen turned and left the room along with the other infantrymen – Jinx included. She couldn't believe this was happening. She'd sounded so confident when telling Davis everything would be fine, but now she was practically trembling.

"I'd like to stay, if that's alright."

Kayli glanced up just as her guns instructor and Brawn walked past, leaving the room. Sephiroth was looking at Lazard with a steady gaze and then Lazard nodded to him before facing Kayli again.

"Miss Peters," Lazard said again. "It seems to me that you believe I am going to force you to leave ShinRa."

"Aren't you?" Kayli asked cautiously, feeling that the other option was too good to believe. Lazard couldn't honestly tell her he was going to keep her secret as well, right? Besides, there had been others present who now also knew her gender as well!

"Why would I?" he asked. "Being a female is not a crime."

"But-" Kayli glanced over at Sephiroth before looking back at Lazard again. "Girls aren't allowed to join SOLDIER!"

"Who told you that?" Lazard asked.

Kayli floundered for an answer but couldn't think of one. No one had ever told her that. It was in the rulebook though, wasn't it?

Lazard went on, "Sephiroth came to me to discuss your situation. He believes you joined ShinRa because of your deceased brother, Roy. Would you like to tell me about him?"

"He was my twin," Kayli said faintly, unable to think straight. Sephiroth had told Lazard? "But he was killed."

"By your older brother, Liam? The Wutai soldier who kidnapped you?" Lazard pressed on.

"Yes."

"When Roy was alive... did he want to become a SOLDIER?"

Kayli clutched the hem of her shirt in her hands for something to do, incredibly nervous. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation with the Director of SOLDIER, of all people!

"Yes, he did," she admitted.

Lazard nodded and clasped his hands together in front of him. "That's all I wanted to know."

"What? I don't understand. You're not kicking me out?" Kayli asked, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

"Did you ever actually read the rulebook?" Sephiroth asked, speaking to her for the first time.

"Of course I did!" Kayli said, glaring at him suddenly.

"Are you sure?" Sephiroth moved over to Lazard's desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling out the book in question and throwing it to Kayli. She caught it easily and turned it over in her hands slowly.

"Maybe... not all of it."

"In any case," Lazard interrupted. "There never has been and never will be a rule against girls joining SOLDIER."

"You're kidding." Kayli mumbled.

"I'm actually quite serious. I also want to encourage you to take the SOLDIER exam as soon as possible now that you've been recommended. Sephiroth has said he'd love to mentor you but may not have enough time in his busy schedule. He is the General, after all."

"Yes, and you ask so much of me." Sephiroth said with a small grin.

"Wait," Kayli said with a frown. "Let me get this straight. All this time I've been pretending to be a guy, it was for nothing?"

"Yes," Sephiroth said bluntly.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Kayli exclaimed.

With a smirk, Sephiroth said, "You were the most interesting thing to happen around here in a long time. I wanted to see how long you could last without anyone finding out your secret." The smirk disappeared and he became serious again. "When I found out about the real Roy I knew it was time to end the game."

"That's another thing," Lazard added. "I want to let you know that if you feel you need to speak to a counsellor about what has happened one will be available to you immediately."

"Thanks," Kayli smiled. "But I think I'm okay."

"Consider it," Sephiroth said firmly. "Pretending to be someone for so long that you loved and lost may have had a negative effect on your mental health."

"Alright," Kayli sighed. "But only if you promise to try and make time to mentor me once I become a SOLDIER."

Sephiroth pressed his lips together in a tight, thin line as Kayli smirked this time and folded her arms. Lazard watched the exchange curiously, amazed that Sephiroth hadn't yelled at her yet for being so informal with him.

"Deal."

Lazard's eyebrows shot up.

"Is that all then, Sir?" Kayli asked, facing Lazard again and waiting patiently.

"Uh, yes." Lazard nodded. "That's everything I needed to talk to you about. Except, I would prefer from now on if you gave up on pretending to be a male."

"Don't worry," Kayli chuckled. "I'm quite happy to give up that hobby."

"Then you're dismissed."

Kayli saluted and turned to walk out the door. Just as she reached the doorway, however, she hesitated. There was one other thing that she probably should tell him, now that she thought about it, since he hadn't brought it up himself.

"Sir," she turned around and saw him waiting patiently for her to speak. "I lied about my age when I applied."

"How old did you say you were?" Lazard asked calmly.

"One year older than I am. It was my birthday yesterday and I turned fifteen," Kayli explained. "So my file probably says I'm sixteen now."

"I'll have it corrected right away." Lazard said.

"Thank you, Sir."

This time, Kayli did walk out the door and into the corridor beyond. She managed to keep a calm exterior all the way until she reached the corridor which contained the door to her room and then she screamed, running the rest of the way and bursting in to find Davis, Alec, Cloud and Rex all inside.

"What happened?" Davis gasped, turning to grab her arms, eyes wide in fright as he feared the worst.

"I can stay! I can stay!" Kayli said excitedly, her voice extremely high as she was practically squealing. "There's no rule that says girls can't be SOLDIERs so I'm allowed to stay and I was even recommended for SOLDIER and Sephiroth said he's gonna be my mentor if I make it in, which I will, so this is so exciting! Oh my gosh!"

Davis' mouth had fallen open as she spoke and when she finished he didn't even think about what he was doing before leaning forward and kissing her on the mouth.

The whole room was shocked into silence and Davis hurriedly pulled back after a moment, blushing bright red and apologising.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. "I didn't mean to... I mean, well, I wasn't really thinking and-"

"It's okay," Kayli said nervously, fiddling with her fingers. "You're my boyfriend, aren't you?" She tried to smile to reassure him but didn't know whether it worked or just looked like a grimace.

"Heh, yeah." Davis gulped.

"Don't make me sick," came a teasing voice and Kayli looked up to see Rex smiling at her. She gasped and moved over to hug him.

"You got let out!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," he nodded. "It's so good to finally be away from the infirmary. But what was all that about? I mean, what you were screaming when you came in?"

Kayli grinned again and took a step back so that she could see everyone in the room and would be able to address all of them at once.

"I got a message on my PHS telling me to go to Lazard's office and I thought he'd finally figured out that I was a girl and was going to send me home. Anyway, I get there and three other infantrymen are there as well. _Plus_ our guns instructor, Brawn and Sephiroth. So then Lazard tells us..."

She trailed off and looked at the eager faces of her audience, enjoying making them wait to find out what had happened.

"We were recommended for SOLDIER! If we pass the SOLDIER exam we'll have the opportunity to be mentored!" Kayli exclaimed.

"That's awesome!" Cloud gasped.

"I know, right?" Kayli squealed. "Anyway, there's more! I didn't really believe what he was saying at first so I asked if he was serious and then... he called me Kayli."

"What? So he _did_ know?" Alec asked.

"Yeah, he did! But he said there's no rule that says girls can't be SOLDIERs so he's letting me stay!"

"No rule? You've been pretending to be a guy all for nothing?" Rex frowned.

"As Sephiroth said," Kayli laughed. "Yes."

Davis shook his head in disbelief and smiled warmly at her, simply thankful that he didn't have to worry about her being kicked out any more.

"I guess that solves all your problems," Cloud said.

"I suppose it does," Kayli said thoughtfully. "So now I don't have to hide anything from anyone here at ShinRa!"

"Hey," Davis suddenly said with a grin. "Does Jinx know, yet?"

Laughing, Kayli nodded and proceeded to tell them how Jinx had overheard and come rushing in to confront her.

With a shake of his head Alec commented, "I haven't known him for long, but it's so like Jinx to go to a lot of trouble to listen in to a meeting only to jump out into plain view when he hears something shocking."

Everyone agreed while Kayli collapsed on her bed in stitches. It took her a good ten minutes to finally calm down and even then everyone was still smiling at what they'd just discussed. They hadn't all laughed like that in a while and it felt good.

It was great to see Rex so happy, as well, and Kayli was pleased that everything finally seemed to be coming together. She was sure that they'd probably have a lot more hard times in the future, but for now it was simply satisfying to see their problems fixed.

"Hey," Rex said suddenly, standing up. "I'm gonna go take the Turk exam."

"Right now?" Davis asked, eyebrows shooting up.

"I promised myself I'd take it as soon as I got out of the infirmary," Rex explained with a small shrug.

"You'll do fine," Kayli said as she pulled herself into a sitting position again. "In fact, I might even come with you and take the SOLDIER exam myself."

"Hooray for snap decisions!" Davis exclaimed as he stood up and grinned over at Rex. He then looked over at Kayli and reached a hand out, pulling her onto her feet as well. "I'll come too, then."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am," Davis replied. "Why wait any longer? There's only one way to find out if we can pass it now!"

"Imagine if we all pass!" Kayli exclaimed. "We'll be Third Class SOLDIERs and Rex, you'll be a Turk!"

"You'll out-rank me!" Alec whined to Kayli, pouting.

"Wow, that's too bad!" Kayli said sarcastically, smiling.

"Come on," Rex said, heading to the door.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Kayli followed him out of the room and down the corridor, Davis right behind her. They didn't talk much as they made their way along but kept shooting nervous glances to each other. The excitement was building with each step, but they had to part ways when they got into the elevator.

Rex had to get out on a different floor, so Kayli and Davis wished him luck and hugged him before letting him go and continuing on their own way to Lazard's office.

Kayli found it ironic that so soon after being recommended for SOLDIER she was going to take the exam. She just hoped it wasn't too difficult and that she managed to pass it, even though it didn't matter because she could take it again any time.

After she and Davis spoke briefly with Lazard about taking the exam, another instructor was called in to take them to an exam room where they would be able to take the first test. It would be a written paper.

Reaching the room, the instructor flicked the lights on and then turned around to face Kayli and Davis who were still standing outside.

"Just a moment," the instructor said. "I have to check the papers to make sure there are no mistakes."

Kayli and Davis nodded, waiting patiently as the instructor leant against one of the desks in the room and began to check through the papers thoroughly. His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he read every word to make sure they were all correct and Kayli began to shift around, unable to keep still any more. The anticipation was killing her!

"I think it's okay," the instructor muttered, reaching the end of the first paper. Picking up the second one, he began to check that as well.

Kayli let out a sigh and glanced over at Davis, who was watching her with a small smile of amusement. She smiled back instantly and then chuckled quietly.

"I feel like I'm going to get in there and have absolutely no idea what I'm doing," Kayli whispered to him honestly.

"Me too," Davis admitted. "But I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Hopefully!"

The instructor finally finished up with both the papers and then laid them out on separate desks before heading to the front of the room again and opening a drawer in the larger desk, pulling out two pens.

"Okay, you two ready?" he asked, looking over at them expectantly with his eyebrows raised.

Kayli's hand quickly found Davis' and she squeezed gently, getting a response him right away as he squeezed back.

"I guess so," Davis said to the instructor, giving a small shrug and moving to step into the room.

Kayli pulled back on his hand, making him frown as he turned to look at her.

"It's gonna be fine," he repeated, trying to reassure her since he thought she was probably having second thoughts. "Even if we don't get in we can try again later."

"I know," Kayli sighed. "That's not what I'm worried about. If we become Third Class SOLDIERs we won't be able to see the others as much any more."

Davis thought about that for a moment before shrugging, "It's inevitable, isn't it? One of us was always going to take the exam first and have to leave the others. Cloud already tried it, remember?"

"Yeah..."

"Besides, I'm sure we'll still be able to arrange times to see them," Davis said, his tone of voice making it sound like a promise. Kayli smiled up at him and nodded.

"Okay. Then there's just one more thing I want to do before I go in there," she told him. Davis raised an eyebrow expectantly, waiting.

Taking a deep breath, Kayli stepped closer to him and stretched up onto her tip-toes. Leaning forward, she briefly smiled at his suddenly surprised face before closing her eyes and kissing him.

Putting his arm around her, Davis quickly returned the gesture as he got over his surprise. After a moment they pulled away again and Kayli grinned shyly, her face red in embarrassment.

"Ready _yet_?"

Kayli giggled as the instructor sighed and tapped his foot.

"Come on," Davis said with a pleased sigh. "Let's go pass the first SOLDIER exam."

Still holding hands, they entered the room and made their way over to the desks which had the papers on them. The instructor passed them a pen each and then they finally let go of the other, sitting down and staring down at the white booklets in front of them.

"Alright," the instructor said as he took his own seat behind the larger desk at the front. "You may begin."

* * *

A/N: The next 'chapter' to be submitted will be the epilogue and it will be the last of this story. I really just wanted to remind everyone again that there will be a link to the sequel along with the epilogue so that you can easily add it to your alert list right away and don't miss any updates once I start writing it. The epilogue for this story will be the prologue for the sequel.

That's all for now, a LOT more information will be with the epilogue when I submit it.


	41. Chapter 40 Epilogue

**Epilogue**

[Two years later]**  
**

The sun was just rising over Midgar when a seventeen-year-old boy with scarring that marred his every facial feature stepped off the train which had pulled into the station. He shouldered the bag on his back, his eyes taking in every inch of scenery he could see and his hands clenching into fists nervously by his sides. There was already a fairly large crowd of people around despite the early hour of the morning and the boy was taken aback for a moment.

Sucking in a deep breath, he then set off through the city at a steady pace, making sure to keep track of the time by the watch he wore on his wrist. He had the whole day to find his way to his final destination, but since he also needed to buy some supplies he was allowing for the extra time in case he couldn't find something at first. The first and most desperate need was some food.

Ignoring the wide-eyed glances of passers-by who caught sight of his face, he clenched his jaw and looked around for any food shops nearby. Spotting a small bakery to his left, he quickly went over and fished out his gil from his pocket. The owner was bending down for something beneath the counter so he cleared his throat to alert him of his presence.

As the owner straightened up to look at his customer, he gasped and stumbled back slightly.

"Shiva! That's not something you see everyday," he commented, wiping his hands on his pants.

The seventeen-year-old boy shifted awkwardly and then said, "I'd like to buy some bread."

"Oh, o'course." The owner nodded and reached over for a bag before raising his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the boy to say what he wanted.

After selecting a few loaves and then handing over the gil, the boy walked away and began to eat. He thought about what else he needed to do, scanning all around for a place where he could purchase the things on his mental list.

He had just spotted a shop selling all sorts of different objects when he was distracted by a voice calling his name and turned around. A boy of fourteen was running towards him, a bag on his back also and a determined expression on his face. When he reached the older boy he doubled over, hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

Straightening again, he glared, "You could have waited for me!"

"You said you weren't coming," the seventeen-year-old replied easily, a hint of a smile showing through his deformed face.

"Yeah, well," the younger boy shrugged non-committally and averted his eyes guiltily before mumbling, "I changed my mind."

"I can see that." The older boy pulled out some bread and handed it over, deciding that his friend was going to need it if he was really coming. "I just have to stop in at another shop first, okay Owen?"

Owen nodded as he dug into the bread, not even looking up as the other boy headed off quickly to the shop he'd seen. It didn't take long, though, and soon he was back with another bag of general things.

"So," Owen said excitedly, looking up at him this time and still munching away on his bread. "This is actually happening?"

The boy with scars smiled, nodding once.

"Let's go then."

Laden with everything they needed, they set off again at an easy pace. Owen chatted constantly, grinning and staring around at everything with wide eyes. Neither of the two boys had ever been to Midgar before, but it was quite obvious which one was enjoying the occasion more than the other.

They only had to ask for directions a few times, mostly just to determine the quickest route to where they were going, before they suddenly found themselves walking into the foyer area of the ShinRa building.

Owen looked as if he was going to keel over with excitement.

"Stop gawking," the other boy teased. "You look like a fish."

Owen snapped his mouth shut and shoved the other boy playfully, still allowing his eyes to roam around the room at everything.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed, quickly grabbing the older boy's arm and pointing over to the side of the room where two men stood talking. "It's a SOLDIER!"

Quickly reined in, Owen grumbled as he was pulled over towards the receptionist desk by his shirt, practically tripping over his feet as he walked half-backwards. He was only released when they got to the desk and then he watched eagerly as the boy with scars waited for the receptionist to address them.

"Yes, boys?" she finally asked, looking up at them. It was the first time anyone had looked at the scars without gasping or staring in shock. "How may I help you?"

"We'd both like to join up to the SOLDIER program."

"Of course!" The receptionist smiled warmly and picked up a couple forms, passing them over to the boys. "I'll call the man in charge... well, whoever is available really, to let them know there are some new recruits here. If you could just fill those out for me, though? Basic information is needed."

Flashing one last smile, the receptionist handed across two pens before picking up the phone and dialling a number.

The forms consisted of very general questions and the two boys quickly began answering them. Name, age, gender, hair and eyes were the simplest. Owen was racing through it all, biting his lip anxiously as he did. The boy with scars, however, was stumped by one particular question. 'Why do you want to become a SOLDIER?'

He had once memorised his answer for this and would have been able to recite it to anyone who asked, but it was no longer that simple. It had been a child's answer.

He was not a child.

Sighing quietly and frowning, he eventually settled for a short sentence, 'It's not a want, it's a need.' No doubt people would want to know more about that when they read it, but he didn't care. It was all he could think of to sum up his feelings about the situation.

"Done!" Owen announced, handing the form back to the receptionist. She was finishing up on the phone but took it from him, smiling and winking at him. Blushing, Owen grinned shyly and looked down at his shoes.

Also finishing up, the boy with scars handed his form over.

"Alright," the receptionist said as she hung up the phone. "One of the SOLDIER instructors, Brawn, will be here in a minute to let you know what's going to happen next."

"Thank you." Owen gushed before the other boy could say anything.

"It's my pleasure," she said with a smile, glancing down at his form before back up at him. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, Owen."

"Oh, I will!" he said with an enthusiastic nod.

"You can sit on those chairs over there while you wait if you'd like," the receptionist said kindly, gesturing to the chairs in question. Owen nodded, blushed again, and practically bolted over to the seats.

The boy with scars grimaced and shot the receptionist an apologetic look – what he hoped was an apologetic look, at least – but she simply smiled again and then glanced down at his own form to find out his name. The smile turned into alarm as she gasped and squinted down at it before looking back up at him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked immediately, hands clenching into fists. What could have been on his form to bring such a reaction from her?

"S-sorry," she quickly said, plastering a fake smile on her face again. "Nothing's wrong. Welcome to ShinRa, Roy Peters."

* * *

A/N: That's it. End.

Now I have a lot of stuff to tell you but I'm going to try and make it quick so I don't take up too much space and leave you bored. [Uh yeah about keeping it short... ^^;]

The sequel, with this epilogue as the prologue, can be found here: h t t p : / / w w w . fanfiction . net/s/6457366/1/

Please go and add it to your alert list or bookmark it, or whatever else you want to do, so that you don't miss any updates when I finally start to write it!

It is currently called 'Untitled' because I didn't know what to call it, and that brings me to my next point. I am holding a **contest** for the title of the sequel! Starting from now, you can either message me with a title idea you might have or put your idea in a review if you want. I will compile a list of everyone who submits a title idea along with the title so that I don't get anything confused. Now, I want to make it very clear right away that **I might not choose any that are suggested to me_. _**I might, during the process, think of a title myself that I prefer and will then use that.

However, **if I do choose one that someone else has suggested** I will then award them with a prize! What's the prize? A one-shot crack!fic about one of my OC's from this story (eg. Rex, Jinx, Camon?). If you have any questions about this ask away, especially if you don't understand or want to know more.

The fact that I might not choose one should not deter you. It should encourage you to work harder at thinking up a title! And because I really _really_ want a title for the sequel, I am going to say that each person can enter up to... five title ideas. So if you're simply brimming with ideas, hopefully you can choose the five best ones and suggest them!

Also, if I don't choose one of the suggested titles but create a title of my own that is **inspired** from one or more of the suggestions, whoever suggested the titles that I create mine from will still be awarded with a crack!fic about an OC from this story. Since more than one person could win this way, the crack!fics will be shorter because I don't want to kill myself from having to write heaps of long one-shots! haha.

Okay, on another **important topic**, my sister **InyrilJace** has written a one-shot spinoff story about Sergei, featuring Viktor. If you'd like to read it, which I suggest you DO because it's REALLY GOOD then go here: h t t p : / / www . fanfiction . net/s/6457336/1/

Along with that, since I have something else **VERY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU!** This month, November, I'm taking part in NaNoWriMo (go to nanowrimo . org if you want to know what it's about) and that means I won't be updating much of my stories here on ffnet. However, because it's a writing challenge, I thought that if you were interested you could go read my NaNoWriMo story this month while you wait for me to finish it and then get back to working on Roy. It's a story about Dragon's and, hopefully, is an original idea! So if you would like to read that while you're waiting for me to get my butt back into action here on ffnet, go here: h t t p : / / w w w . fictionpress . com /s/2860904/1/The_Riders_Pledge

Oh and one more thing before I finish up. Seriously, who _didn't_ see the last line of this epilogue coming! ? ! ? Haha XD PLEASE REVIEW!

Hopefully I've written everything I wanted to, now... **ANY QUESTIONS, ASK AWAY!**


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